The Edsel experiment had come to a close almost as soon as the 1960
cars reached showrooms. Ford, facing a public backlash against the
marque's controversial "horse-collar" grille, ordered a hurried,
clean-sheet redesign that favored a more conventional horizontal
grille treatment and trimmed the range to Ranger passenger cars and
Villager wagons. Riding on a 120-inch wheelbase shared with the
Fairlane and Galaxie, the 1960 Rangers wore Ford sheet metal
enlivened by unique trim, tail lamps, and reverse lamps. It was too
little too late; production was halted barely a month after
introduction, with just 2,846 built.
Only 76 of those were convertibles, and that number alone has
secured the model's standing as the object of the Edsel collector's
longest search. So few genuine examples survive that a number of
1960 Ford Sunliners were re-nosed and re-lamped to pass as the real
thing. Authentic, documented cars are correspondingly prized.
Chassis number 0U15Y701609 is one of them. According to previous
research, its history includes owners in Tennessee and Illinois
before the car joined a well-known private Edsel collection, where
it was kept as the centerpiece. An older cosmetic restoration
returned it to Regal Red, its original color, while the cabin was
retrimmed in correct red and silver vinyl and retains the embossed
original door panels that are effectively impossible to reproduce.
Most significantly, the car was built with the most powerful engine
offered, the "Super Express" 352-cubic-in V8 rated at 300
horsepower, which remains under the hood alongside the three-speed
Dual Power automatic transmission.
The Edsel occupied one of the briefest and most scrutinized
chapters in Ford's history, and the 1960 convertible is the
scarcest artifact of its final weeks. Its next owner will find few
doors closed to them, and fewer still at the Edsel Owners Club
gatherings where this car would draw a crowd wherever it is
parked.
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