Lincoln Continental

Lincoln Continental is a name that has been used several times by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company for a line of luxury cars.

1961-1969 Lincoln Continental

In 1961, the Lincoln full-size car was completely redesigned from scratch. The design was originally intended to be the new 1961 Ford Thunderbird, but it was enlarged for Lincoln by the command of Robert McNamara to give Lincoln a distinctive, signature style. The new Lincoln Continental's most recognised trademark, though, was a purely practical decision. To simplify production, all cars were to be four-door models, even the convertible. The new Continental was a unibody design, and there simply was not the structural strength to front-hang the heavy rear doors in the convertible model. Therefore, the rear doors were hung from the rear and opened from the front. This suicide door style was to become the best-known feature of the 1960s Lincoln.

Related Topics:
1961 - Ford Thunderbird - Robert McNamara - Convertible - Unibody - Suicide door - 1960s

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This slab-sided distinctive design ran from 1961 through 1969 with few changes. It was the first car offered in the United States with a 2-year, 24,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. The car was stretched 3 inches (76 mm) in 1964 to give more rear-seat legroom, and the roofline was squared off at the same time. The convex 1961-64 grille was replaced by a flatter, squared-off one for 1965-69, which made the car look decidedly different but in actuality little else changed. A two-door version was launched in 1966, the first two-door Lincoln since 1960, and the MEL engine was expanded from 430 to 462 cubic inches (7 to 7.6 L). The convertible was killed off after 1967, and Ford's new 385 engine in a 460 cubic inch (7.5 L) model was phased in later that year.

Related Topics:
1969 - 1966 - MEL engine - 1967 - 385 engine

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Suicide-door Lincolns were used as the US Presidential limousines during the 1960s and into the 1970s. John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a 1961 convertible, which was later armored and converted into a sedan for greater security. This famous automobile is currently housed at The Henry Ford museum. Another famous event involving this model of Continental was when a brand new 1964 model was mercilessly crushed into a cube in a junkyard compactor in the James Bond film Goldfinger, to the horror of many American movie goers!

Related Topics:
John F. Kennedy - The Henry Ford - 1964 - James Bond - Goldfinger

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