(first posted 11/24/2014) Remember the Sixties Continental? Sure you do, even if you, like me, were born long after the Sixties ended. But who could forget such an elegant car? Lincoln almost bought the farm after their disastrous attempt at “out-Cadillacing” Cadillac, but a chance encounter with a Thunderbird design sketch saved the day. And the classic car world is so much better as a result of these cars!
But perhaps you may not recall that Lincoln went half of that storied decade without a two-door model. Yes! Of course, with the ’61 Connie having so much in common with the 1961-63 Bullet Bird, they were lucky enough to have any car at all. And no one will argue about the appeal of the suicide-door 1961-65 Continental Sedan and Continental Convertible. They’re so beautiful! The anti-1959 Cadillac. Sleek, severe perhaps, but gaudy? Never!
I have always wondered how a 1961 Continental two-door would have looked. Quite well, I imagine. But Lincoln was on thin ice between 1960 and 1961, so I can see why caution in adding new models was taken.
But as lovely as the Continental Convertible was, they never sold all that great. I am sure that their mere presence led to lots and lots of Sedan sales, but as much as the drop-top was admired, sales between 1961 and 1965 ran between 2800 and 3300 units. The best year prior to the introduction of the Coupe? 3,356 in 1965. Compare that with 36,824 Sedans and you can see why the Coupe was green-lighted.
1966 was a big year for Continental fans. Not only was there a substantial restyle inside and out, there was now the Coupe! As well as a remarkably clean instrument panel. Wow! So sleek. And by the way, yes, I do miss analog clocks in cars. I love the one in my Cartier! The HVAC outlets were hidden in the chrome instrument panel trim. Attention to detail was the watchword when it came to these Continentals.
And the new Coupe was a beauty. So sleek, yet still carrying that Continental flair. And when ordered in just the right color combination–like dark red with a black vinyl roof and white leather interior, for instance–absolutely stunning. Coupe de What? Oh, yeah, they’re nice too–very nice, and I wouldn’t kick one out of my garage, but… But. Look at this car!
The Coupe handily outdistanced the Convertible in 1966 sales, to the tune of 15,766 Coupes against 3,180 Convertibles. Naturally, it did not hurt that the Continental Coupe was the least-expensive Continental of the year, at $5,485.
Not cheap, of course. This was still an American luxury car, back when that really meant something, but $5,485 was still a fair bit better than the Sedan’s $5,750 and the Convertible’s princely $6,383 FOB pricing. The fact that it was just as attractive as the other models certainly didn’t hurt, and a two-door was much more appealing for a bit more sportiness than a four-door–drop-top or no.
And let us not forget that these Continentals had a reverse-opening hood, so as to prevent an ajar hood latch from causing a crash. This went back a ways with Ford Motor Company, as the 1955-57 Thunderbirds and subsequent Squarebirds had them too, as did the 1957-58 Ford.
As the cover of the ’66 sales brochure stated: “Lincoln Continental for 1966: unmistakably new, yet unmistakably Continental.” And as a Continental–the pride of Ford Motor Company, built in its own factory (along with the Thunderbird) in Wixom, Michigan, power, prestige and convenience were all important. Motivation was provided by a four-barrel, 340-hp 462 CID V8 engine, backed up by a Twin-Range Turbo-Drive Automatic Transmission. Three on the tree? On a Continental?! Surely you jest!
The interior was equally new. That was quite the instrument panel, too. It actually jutted out towards the driver, with a very ’60s architectural style. Very sleek, and luxurious at the same time. The radio was on the right side of the steering column, and similar controls on the left controlled the heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Everything of course was finished to a very high standard.
And with white leather? Wow, so nice! And no worries about scorching the backs of your legs in the summertime like you would with a black interior. White interiors are so bright and cheery! I love them.
And when traveling in the rear compartment of a Continental, you rode in equally pleasant surroundings as the front seat passengers. You also got a fold-down armrest, power window switch and ashtray–with built-in lighter, no doubt.
The 1966 Continental was attractive enough to get my grandfather out of a Buick Electra 225 and begin his Lincoln journey, with a special-ordered triple-green sedan. No vinyl roof, but my dad well remembers the optional 8-track stereo, which was very good for its time, sound-wise. He also well remembers sneaking the Continental out of the garage for late-night joyrides. This was rather difficult, as my grandparents’ bedroom was directly above the attached two-car garage. But somehow, Dad managed it on several occasions.
These were just so sleek and elegant. That lovely roofline and Coke-bottle fenders, while perhaps not quite as severely elegant as the unquestionably attractive 1961-65 Continentals, moved the earlier Connie’s proven aesthetics into the late Sixties a bit better. And really, although we are discussing the Coupe today, I would take any one of them, any year!
Sadly, this most excellent roofline only was available in 1966 and 1967. For 1968, a more Mark III-like roofline was added. It was still a very good-looking car, but it seemed just a little bulkier and not quite as smooth. As I remarked to fellow CCer and LCOC member Glenn Kramer as we were looking over today’s feature car, it kind of looked like a Continental Mark III that had a few too many Big Macs. Aw, I can’t stay mad! But regardless, I still feel the 1966-67 is just a bit more comely than the 1968-69 Coupe.
Just look at those lines. Clean, elegant. Just enough chrome trim to catch your attention, but never, never overdone. Refined. Refinement is key. There is a reason stylists back then did things so well. No regulations, and no multimedia claptrap to focus on–like cell phones and laptops adversely influence automotive design today, sadly. Any bozo can slap on fake portholes or plastichrome-by-the-yard, or stamp zig-zags into modern family sedans, but it will never, ever look good.
Was 1965 and 1966 the peak for styling? I think it was. That was a long time ago, but at least wonderful cars like this Continental can remind us of perhaps not a better time, but certainly a more aesthetically pleasing one!
Related reading: 1965 Lincoln Continental – The Last Great American Luxury Car
Much more attractive than the 4 door and in black cherry also.Thanks for showing me a Lincoln I never knew about Tom.
This two-door roof all the way over the one that followed.
I was too young to remember, but after a history of Studebaker’s (1932 and 1948), Chryslers (1936, 1938 Imperial, 1941, 1948, 1958 Dodge, 1960) and Buick’s (1949, 1953, 1954), my grandparents went all in on Ford products including Thunderbirds (1958, 1964) and LTDs (1966, 1968 and 1970) for my Grandmother, and Continentals for my Grandfather (1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970 and 1972). Life was pretty grand for them as my grandfather ran a Los Angeles insurance company and got company cars from 1958 through 1974, but my point is that for the country club set that considered Cadillacs flashy and had been buyers of Buick’s and before that Chryslers, Lincoln, with this Continental became the stylish, substantial and yet not too flashy car to own.
Those Lincoln bodies turned heads for very different reasons than the 1961 Imperial, for example! The Imperial was the last grand statement if Post WWII “enthusiasm” and America in love with its heroic self. “Imperial” and “Crown” and. “Le Baron” all have European reference to thrones and kingdoms. In America, every man’s home was his “castle.” No pretenses! The Imperial was extravagant, for sure, excessively so, but it was a tour de force of automobile design ideas! One could not be around them and not talk about automobile design any more than one could dismiss a Delahaye (sp?) in a way of dreams and fantasy, Imperials were fantasy carriages for nobility! A place reserved for the post WWII victorious! All that warfare innovation applied to the American consumer, tail fin swans and all.
Minimalism set in with the Kennedy’s and Continentals! Nothing said America at that time better than Jackie Kennedy and the Lincoln Continental! But the fantasy story moved on with visions of Camelot American style right up to the rueful day in Dallas, pink suit, pillbox hat, and gunshots! The end of American innocence came veto a halt and a fall from grace, the wholesome clean lines of the Lincoln Continental and all. Makes the days of the Imperial seem so optimistic, with tail fins suggesting a culture that could not wait to get to its future!
The irony being that “LeBaron” wasn’t actually European, having been invented as a trade name by a couple of American designers looking to sound more Continental…
Le Baron is correct French. Just like Le Car, which means The Bus.
“Royal(e)” is another one. It would be really illogical if there was a land yacht with the name
“La République Royale”. But it would be the King of Broughams !
Well, the LeBaron name was invented by two designers from New York (Ray Dietrich and Thomas Hibbard), so it was about as French as Paris, Texas.
Before the war, Studebaker offered Commander, Dictator, and President models, so you could choose your poison, so to speak.
Yes, it’s a small world, America is just a 65 km drive.
I’d love to get my hands on a Continental coupe. They are as my grandson puts it ‘way cool’.
I have my dad’s 1966 Lincoln Continental with suicide doors,needs work
These ’66-’67 coupes really do have a fantastic style, so much more so than the ’68. That Mark III -imitation roofline doesn’t really work with the lines of the car the way the ’66 roofline does, and the trim details all seem to be moving in the wrong direction.
While, all other things being equal, I think I slighly prefer the intital design (pinnacle year for me would be ’63 or ’64), these second-series cars were still beautiful and the coupe is breathtaking. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t 1966 the only year when both the coupe and the convertible were available? What a selection indeed.
Years ago I had a ’62 sedan, baby blue over medium-blue leather – a great car, and quite a bit more agile than its size would suggest. The ’61-’63 and ’66-’67 Connies are my favorites, I’m not so big on the ’64-’65s, particularly because they abandoned the curved side glass that was a feature of the first-generation models. I assume it was done in the interest of more headroom, but to me, it’s a jarring straight-line plane on an otherwise subtly-rounded design. And they did return to it on the ’65.
But this is just picking nits – I wouldn’t throw any one of ’em out of my garage, either. Thanks for the article, Tom.
I’m with you on the side glass. The feature in Collectible Automobile said it was done to reduce costs. Bad call – designers know best!
I’m sure it’s been said before, but this is what Lincoln is missing today. There is no flagship that sets styling standards. The ’61-’67 Continental (in any bodystyle) was one of the most beautiful cars in the world, timeless really.
Today, there’s just nothing to compare to it.
That burgundy ’66 coupe is just right, isn’t it?
Seeing I was born in 1967 I am very excited to see that the older style Coupe’ roofline was offered for that year. I never realized what a gorgeous car it is! The newer roofline doesn’t quite look as good to me. Love the color combination and style of that Lincoln. Thanks for the great writeup Tom, as usual!
“No jazz, no gook, no outer space effects. Just real money, and plenty of it” (Tom McCahill test 1963 Continental)
We old gezers remember when these cars were new. Call my a philistine, but I favor the 69. The grill of the mid 60s models had too much of a Mercury vibe to them. The best thing about watching a Nixon motorcade was seeing that 69 Lincoln limo.
That being said, it’s a good thing I didn’t go to the collection liquidation in Dearborn that Richard went to. He brought back a pic of a 68 two door. If I had been there, I’m afraid I would have left some drool on it, Mercury grill and all.
The production numbers those years are vanishingly small. Packard died with higher sales than that, but Packard didn’t have suburban families snapping up “low priced” models in the millions to subsidize it.
Mmmm… love that ’66. And in burgundy? Too sweet! I agree that the ’66-’67 two door is more the looker but honestly I wouldn’t kick any 60’s Lincoln out of bed for eating crackers 😀 .
I’ve never seen a 1966 Lincoln Continental two door coupe before. I’ve seen plenty of four door sedans and four door convertibles, but never a two door.
I always thought the 66 Continental was one of the best looking ones ever made. Great article on them!
I’ve never really been wild about the ’61-’69 (heresy!). I think the ’64 Imperial (as I noted last week) further evolved the design in a good way, and I prefer the Imps and New Yorkers of the 60s to these. Moreover, I also think the Cadillac was better looking–if not always better quality, right through the 1975s. The ’63-’64, and ’69-’70 stand out for me from Cadillac during that time. The Lincoln love starts a bit later for me, ’75-’79 is my favorite looking Continental, in particular the wide grill, fender skirted ’75-’76. After ’80, my allegiance heads back to Cadillac in the looks department.
Still I can appreciate the concept of exclusivity these cars still presented at least into the early-mid 70s. I would love to see another American take on that kind of exclusivity instead of the continued attempts to copy the Germans, albeit with distinct designs but unmistakably copying European concepts of luxury sedans. I’m not holding my breath.
I ran across 1 of these on a Craigslist this weekend. Not half as nice as this one, though. It was an off-white/dirty cream color with a black interior.
Probably my favorite 66 full-sized Ford product….well, it at least ties with a 66 Country Squire.
Splendid looking car and I bet it drives great too. Like I said in the ’64 Imperial post, Lincoln did the same things well but always seemed to go one step further. Take the instrument panel for example. Beautiful, well made and very ergonomic, more designed than decorated. The clamshell hood is also a cool, cut-above feature.
The lines on these two-doors were great. Long, sinewy and much more youthful than either the Caddy or Imperial. Maybe that’s why of all the big classic cars, this bodystyle looks the best with larger, modern wheels.
Very nice, Tom. I am an unabashed Lincoln fan, at least through 1979. Which generation is my favorite depends on the weather and my mood. The 66-67 is a very nice looking car, and perhaps the Lincoln most competitive with cars in its class since the prewar Model K.
Lincoln certainly needed a 2 door, but I always thought these looked best as a sedan (or convertible sedan). I like the 2 door, but its proportions are not quite as nice as the 4 door, where they are nearly perfect. These were mighty rare on the ground in the 60s, too.
When I was younger and cars of this era were cheap and plentiful, I should have picked one of these up. I had both a 63 Cadillac and a 64 Imperial, but the Lincoln never made it into my driveway. A year or so of ownership would have completed my ability to do a first-hand three way comparison.
The lack of a two door limited 1961-65 sales to a degree, but Lincoln was climbing back, proving it could eke out a solid market position on a minimum investment. Fortuitously, it had one of the great designs of the period to give it great appeal.
At the time, I felt the two door Continental was much more sporty and appealing than either the Coupe de Ville or Imperial. As elegant and unified as the 1966-67 were, the 1968-69 lost it with their Mark III-style formal C-pillar and less-than-inspired rearrangement of parking and taillights. Amazing how such small changes could reduce their appeal.
BTW, Ray Dietrich and Tom Hibbard named their new automobile body architecture design service by selecting LeBaron from the Manhattan telephone directory! It sounded French and classy!
…the 1968-69 lost it with their Mark III-style formal C-pillar and less-than-inspired rearrangement of parking and taillights.
Another thing I particularly like about the 69: they moved the backup lights into the tailfins. Not as clean as the Mark III, but an improvement over the immediately preceding years.
Beats me why they didn’t just go all in and give the sedans the same rear end treatment as the Mark III.
The shape of the front fenders gave the car an elegance that the later model lacked. That change downgraded the look from Lincoln to Generic Big American Car.
No question, a beautiful car. But, by ’66 the Lincoln had moved from JFK era hipness to the embodiment of old money conservative good taste. I’m thinking “The Graduate,” but I’m sure there are plenty of movies and TV shows where the Continental came to symbolize the establishment. That continues to this day – Roger Sterling drives one to retrieve his daughter from a hippy commune on Mad Men.
Mister Hainy!
Mister Douglas!
Mister Hainy!
Mister Douglas!
Mister Hainy!
Mister Douglas!
My next-door neighbors growing up in suburban Detroit were Ford nuts, and with three boys, were always working on cars. Mid to late 70s. They had a ’61 Continental convertible project, sort of an off-white cream color with a matching leather interior. First car I can remember seeing in person that had:
1. Reverse-opening hood
2. Suicide doors
3. Ventilation ducted through the door jambs to the rear seat passengers
Made quite an impression. Really small tires (14″ rims, maybe?) to get the low ground clearance look. I remember the owners’ fondness for 351 Clevelands, 427s, and 429s. They felt like the Lincoln’s engine (a 400 or 410, maybe?) wasn’t up to the level of the rest of the car, although they didnt put it that way “that engine s____”
Later when Animal House came out, I could say “Well I’ve seen a car like that before”…I still chuckle when I picture Bluto trying to get Flounder to laugh after he realizes his brother’s car has been destroyed. D Day says “Just leave it to me” as he lights his cutting torch and the “Eat Me” deathmobile is born…
It would have been a 430 MEL engine, became a 462 in ’66. They were boat anchors, think of it as a 352 FE with Gigantism. Replaced by the much superior 460 in mid-68. It was a running change so ’68 models could have come with either engine.
I never knew how stylish the mid to late 1960’s Lincoln Continental coupe’s were until now, I’ve always liked them better than the suicide door sedans, for some reason I always overlooked this era of the Continental’s over the Cadillac’s of this era, I agree the 1966-67 coupe’s were better looking than the 1968-69’s non Mark models, for the sedan’s I prefer the early 70’s or the late 50’s models,
I know it´s a bit of a long stretch (literally)…but look, what Ford gave us Germans in the 60s ! 😉
and here´s the rear.
That’s cool…
I wholeheartedly agree that the 66/67 coupes were superbly styled cars – much nicer than the more formal 68/69 models. And you photographed them from their best angle – the rear 3/4 view.
I had a 67 which I was forced to sell due to an overseas military assignment several years ago. It was one of just over 10K made that year – in what all Lincolns look best in – black, though this burgundy looks very nice too.
I hope to find another one thru LCOC in the future – prices, as with the sedan, are still very reasonable.
Tom,
Great article, as usual. Some comments: The reason that the sedans (66-69) didn’t have the MK III rear is that, according to someone who worked on the Mk III, Lee Iacocca saw the MK III proposal and said to put a RR grill and the MK II spare tire hump on it. The stylists cringed, but the result was marketing magic. Also, the 430/462 was current from ’58 to mid ’68 and was not a bad engine at all, capable of pushing the gargantuan ’58 ’59 cars to 60 mph in less than 9 seconds..
Tom, a agree that this car was a great representative of the Lincoln design language of the ’60s. I am not as fond of this particular analog clock, you could not see it at night, because of the lighting.
Keep up the great work, Lincolnwise!
Good looking car !.
I had a four door ’67 Connie , it had mag wheels and we put open mufflers and a crossover pipe close to the engine , it sounded great and ran like a rocket , we fried the tranny .
I also had ’63 , ’64 & ’65 Connies , all were great if thirsty (Gasoline was .32 CENTS then) , I liked the ’65 the best of them , it too was quite nimble , didn’t stick really well on those Bias-Ply tires , my 5′ Russian girlfriend drove the ’65 mostly and dented in all for doors several times .
Collectible Automobile showcased a custom made ’65 two door Connie long ago , I though it looks O.K. but not as nice as this one .
-Nate
I’d be happy with the 4-door, the difference in the styling only serves to make it more unique and the more dignified access to the rear seat is appropriate.
I’m glad they didn’t inflict the fake spare tire hump on the Continental. Has there ever been a car with the spare located in that position other than the Lancia Fulvia (or perhaps Flavia) sedan?
Of course ;
I drive it every day…….
-Nate
Been away from the computer for a few days, but I have to say Tom has stated the beauty of these in much better terms then I could ever come up with. 66-67 2 door coupe is really the highlight of the Continental. The 67 my family owned had less chrome in the interior and some instrument/dash changes but looked the same as this 66 on the outside. This is one of the few cars that really looks ‘right’ with a vinyl roof. Some have called the 462 engine a ‘boat anchor’, but it had no trouble towing a 21 ft Shasta travel trailer up the steepest hills effortlessly. Thanks for the great write up. To me these cars are timeless classics.
I was able to pick up a Kennedy Coupe 66 last year from its original owner. Love the car, but still perfecting it. These cars are awesome, drive great for the age and not to bad to work on.
Lincolns in general were very well built cars with great designs and fabulous lines, even today’s Lincolns are very nice cars. Except that now instead of been what a luxury car should be they are following other manufacturers. What happened to the original name plates Continental, Zephyr, Mark, Cosmopolitan? they all had been replace with letters and numbers following the German market or trying to tell us that a 4 door or a wagon is a personal car mmmmm. Not a personal car is a 2 door car no mater what and by the way does any one know why a Continental Mark became a Lincoln Mark?
I do mise 2 door Lincolns today
Wow, what a gorgeous car. If I went back in time for some reason, and had the money, (which I would because I’d be famous for time traveling, or at least I’d take back a Sports Almanac like Biff Tannon) I would get one exactly like the featured car. In fact, I’d buy a few nice cars from that time period because, being from the future I’d know that the 70s were not going to be the best of times for auto performance. Or looks. Or class. Cars like that will never exist again. A Riviera and Chevelle would fit in my fantasy garage as well. Maybe I’d use my time-travelling fame or Biff-gambling clout to try to date Raquel Welch. I mean, as long as I’m daydreaming…
Has anyone else ever taken note of the delightful interior smell of these cars? Back in the mid to late seventies I had the opportunity to do wheel alignments on a few of these Lincoln’s. I don’t know what Ford treated that leather with but they smelled so good; rich actually. And that unique smell outlasted any new car smell by years. It sure added to the elegance of driving these cars.