Back when smoking was sexy and cocktails during business lunches were a thing, the 1961 Lincoln Continental introduced America to a new design that transformed a failing luxury brand into a hot sedan carrying world leaders, industrial barons and the Hollywood elite.
Now, Lincoln is seeking to recapture that vintage elegance in a classic sedan.
A limited-edition 2019 Continental honors the custom luxury vehicle made 80 years before for Edsel Ford in 1939. Years later, the company introduced the '61 Continental — famous for its center-opening doors and a chrome-accented upper shoulder line.
Lincoln announced Monday that its dealers will start taking orders on Dec. 17 for just 80 of the special Continentals, which will feature a sill plate numbered like artwork. The price will be listed at "north of $100,000," officials said.
Like the 1961 version, it will come with “coach doors,” known among car aficionados as “suicide doors,” which open from the center of the vehicle to allow rear-seat passengers to enter and exit gracefully.
“This is an homage to the past and iconic styling and glamour of the 1960s,” said David Woodhouse, design director at Lincoln. “This was a time of pencil skirts, when the center-opening doors provided elegance with ingress and egress to the vehicle.”
“This car was a car to be seen in — Neil Young, Pablo Picasso, Walt Disney,” Woodhouse said.
It was an era of the great space race, superpowers and Camelot. The Lincoln Continental design was praised by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright and selected for exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Making of a classic
Today, the classic Lincoln Continental remains the standard-bearer for luxury.
Eric Noble, an automotive design consultant based in Southern California, said his high-end car company has clients from around the globe who still examine what worked with the 1961 Lincoln Continental.
When he learned of the 80th anniversary limited-edition model, he was speechless. Then he repeated “wow” over and over again. Then he wondered aloud how anyone could keep such significant news a secret even from industry insiders.
“As product planners, we very often study the ’61 Continental because it’s one of the most important luxury cars ever built,” said Noble, a professor at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, specializing in transportation design. “Lincoln wasn’t doing well compared to other luxury brands at the time, namely Cadillac. The ’61 Continental was an all-new power train, all-new platform, all-new design. The car was so good that sales went up and stayed up for an entire generation.”
He said this new vehicle signals to consumers that Lincoln is a serious player and ready to play hardball to win buyers.
1964 Lincoln Continental (Photo: Lincoln Motor Company)
“If you want to succeed in luxury cars, you’ve got to spend money on your luxury cars,” Noble said. “This is the problem that most wannabe luxury manufacturers face. They won’t make the investment.”
Key to luxury is a super roomy second row, a feel of luxury and risk, he said.
“The suicide doors are not a Lincoln innovation. They’ve been around since the dawn of the modern automobile, but they’re particularly tied to the ’61 Continental. And bringing them back is a great idea. It’s also a risk,” he said. “Suicide doors are traditionally seen as less safe for ingress, egress. But in order to succeed, luxury brands have to take risks. They must make products that are jaw-dropping.”
This car, today, is known by American historians as the vehicle that carried John F. Kennedy in Dallas on the day of his assassination. That car is on display at The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn.
The limited model
This new anniversary model is a hardtop, not a convertible.
The coach doors open 90 degrees. The vehicle has all the high-tech amenities expected in luxury vehicles today, including 30-way seat adjustment, massage, illuminating lights, driver assist, wireless charging, speed display projected onto the windshield.
Each vehicle will be built in Flat Rock and then shipped to aftermarket automotive specialists to be custom cut and finished. The 2019 Continental will be 6 inches longer to allow for the center-opening doors to open completely.
2019 Lincoln Continental 80th Anniversary edition (Photo: Lincoln Motor Company)
This way of producing a vehicle body and then sending off site for a custom finish is how rich customers used to buy cars back in the day. This work is being completed by Cabot Coach Builders in Boston, which does other high-end custom work for Lincoln and Ford Motor products.
Lincoln will debut the vehicle during a holiday party hosted by the car company at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge on Monday. Later, the vehicle will be at the Detroit auto show in January 2019 and later at the Beijing auto show.
The cars are scheduled to be delivered to customers by June 2019 in the U.S. only.
Analysts said this vehicle could have huge appeal to consumers in China, the world’s largest car market and consumers who value the backseat space more than the front seat space, because car ownership is limited by the government because of crowding issues. Families travel in large groups.
Jonathan Klinger, vice president of public relations for Hagerty classic insurance based in Traverse City, said 1961 Lincoln Continental convertibles can command as much as $100,000 today. And a sedan may command as much as $35,000.
At the time, the suicide door was introduced for practical reasons that made easy entry into the rear seat, Klinger said. “Over time, that style door has been associated with elegant automobiles that only few people ever experience. It certainly sets the car apart within its segment.”
A limited number of additional Continental Coach Door Edition sedans will be available for the 2020 model year, too, Lincoln confirmed.
The company spotlights its best-in-class second-row legroom. The design allows passengers to exit by stepping forward and out.
This limited edition will have a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine, 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. Purchase of the vehicle entitles owners to privileges that includes detailing, anytime car washes and access to restaurants where chefs provide curated dining experiences.
Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: phoward@freepress.com or 313-222-6512. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid
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