Vehicle Description
Reportedly one of six built and three extant survivors Five owners
from new, including Lincoln connoisseurs Tony Heinsbergen and Tom
Powels Beautifully and authentically restored to award-winning
condition 2014 Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA)
President's Cup winner; Pebble Beach Concours class award winner An
exceptional Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) Full Classic Lincoln
in every regard Body Style 130. 90 bhp, 357 cu. in. L-head
eight-cylinder engine, four-speed manual transmission, front and
rear semi-elliptical leaf springs, and rear-wheel mechanical drum
brakes. Wheelbase: 136 in. Brunn & Company of Buffalo, New York,
was renowned for the beautiful styling, superb build quality, and
lush trim of its designs, making it a favorite of many wealthy East
Coast clients - including Edsel Ford, who arranged for Brunn to
become one of Lincoln's most prominent suppliers of "semi-custom"
bodies. Brunn's Lincoln offerings were especially noted for the
depth and breadth of the range, including everything from formal
limousines to sporting touring cars and roadsters. Few designs on
the 1925 Model L chassis were more dramatic than Brunn's "Beetle
Back" Roadster, distinguished by the sporting tapered tail that
seemed stretched back between the rear fenders. A more subtle
variant of the "boattail" design that other manufacturers would
make popular later in the decade, it was an exceptionally rare
version of the standard Brunn roadster design. Reportedly only six
examples of the "Beetle Back" Roadster were made in 1925, and only
three are known to exist today. The car offered here, according to
written documentation on file, was purchased new by the newlywed
Edgar and Lila Mason of Auburn, Indiana (itself a famous automaking
center of the time). Mrs. Mason so loved her new Lincoln that she
nicknamed it "Sis" and considered it a member of her family; it was
her only vehicle for a lifetime of driving, covering some 90,000
miles and, in later years, being actually stored in her living room
to protect it. In 1977, the excellent original car was sold by Mrs.
Mason's heirs to Jim Riffenburgh, the first of several Lincoln
Owners Club members who have preserved it over the years, including
the renowned enthusiasts Tony Heinsbergen and Tom Powels. The
present owner, himself a talented restorer who for many years
restored the automobiles of the Nethercutt Collection, acquired it
from the Powels Family, becoming only the fifth caretaker from new.
As Mr. Powels had documented the car's history and original colors,
it was a relatively easy automobile to restore to its present
award-winning condition. It has since won many honors, including
2nd in Class at the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and 1st
in Class at several other West Coast concours, and the AACA
President's Cup in the Western Division in 2014. Lincoln Owners
Club members jealously prize these elegant coachbuilt cars - and
the scarcer and sportier the body style, the more they prize them.
Of the six Brunn-bodied "Beetle Back" Roadsters, only three
survivors are known worldwide, and this is likely the only example
to come to market in the near future. Accompanied by a tool kit,
jack, wheel wrench, owner's manual, and photographic documentation
of its restoration, it marks a rare opportunity to become only the
sixth caretaker of a truly special Model L Lincoln, one that
carries with it the superb provenance recognized by many of the
great Lincoln enthusiasts of the last half-century.
