From the beginning in 1940 the Lincoln Continental was always a high quality and very good looking sporty car originally designed by Edsel Ford’s own personal use. It was so good looking that all of his friends wanted one which pushed him to move it into production. Fast-forwarding to 1958, Lincoln made a bold move in switching to unitary construction for the 1958 models, but the result was somewhat underwhelming. The largest Lincolns to date and the hugest unibody cars ever, they came across as massive and interesting, competitive at first but pretty dated by 1960. The new, clean design for 1961 started out as a Thunderbird concept and so it was created around a Thunderbird cowl. But it was Robert McNamara, Ford general manager and future company president, who suggested it become a four-door Lincoln Continental. This caused quite a stir, since an evolutionary Lincoln, based on the 1958-60 design, was already in process. But Engel's design prevailed, and went into production in November 1960.
The Industrial Design Institute awarded it a coveted Bronze Medal which is very difficult to achieve for an automobile. 15 inches shorter than its predecessor, the new Continental was designed for ease of passenger entry: the lack of a wrap-around windshield and use of "suicide" rear doors aided in this. And truly modern for the time was a four-door convertible body style.
Design changes were made over the first three years, but were very small changes. The changes for 1965 and 1966 were a bit more substantial but in a good way. The biggest changes were made in the design of the grille, the body a bit updated and front disc brakes for 1965 and 1966. These Lincolns are still to this day super cool and in vogue especially after the Continentals star role in the HBO hit series “Entourage.” The earliest versions from the 1961 and 1962 years are among the most sought after versions of the continental because of their cleaner and simpler design and smaller size.
Offered here is a really wonderful example of a 1962 Continental convertible that is a really well kept original car and a nice early example with all of the features you want to see. Most importantly its condition is superb and it is a really nice car that has obviously never been in poor unkept condition. Never having rust or damage it is as good as they come. It was restored and was done very well finished in its original colors of white with a beautiful and just completed red leather interior which is a fantastic combination. The black vinyl convertible top has just been redone and all of the power windows and power top mechanism work as they should. Mechanically it runs and drives very well. All of the brightwork is also in very nice condition. If you are looking for a nice straight original early example of a 60’s Continental convertible especially in fantastic colors, it doesn’t get any better than this. Contact us today for more information.
