posted by William Garrett
There’s something about the suicide-door Contis that always stirs something in me. It’s the anti-Cadillac, with its huge flat clean flanks, no fins, suicide doors, and all-round different proportions. And a unibody, to boot. It was the last time an American luxury car would be so different from the competition, with such an immediate presence and unmistakable image. I called it “The Last Great American Luxury Car” and my feelings haven’t changed, although one could rightfully say that the Tesla Model S picked up that baton laying in the gutter.
One can debate the pros and cons of the various grilles on these Contis, but ultimately it’s largely irrelevant; from today’s vantage point, they’re all terrific, with the possible exception of the ’69.
What’s under the hood is a mystery, as the early ’68s had the last of the MEL 462 V8s, and the late ’68s had the new 460 V8. Obviously the newer one was better in every objective measure, but the 462 is a piece of history. A mighty big one, at that.
A great shot of the interior, thanks to rolled-down windows. Tha California sun has inflicted a bit of damage, as has the driver’s butt. The instrument panel had to be toned down to meet the new 1967 safety regs, but it’s still a fairly impressive piece of sculpture and texture.
This is of course one of the key hallmarks of the genre.
I can hear it now…
Related reading:
Curbside Classic: 1965 Lincoln Continental – The Last Great American Luxury Car
Engine History: Lincoln’s Two-Barrel Carb MEL 430 Engine – Taming The Thirsty Beast
The 1967-style steering wheel is a puzzler. Could that have been used in early 1968 model production? Or was it a later swap for the original?
I always thought I would eventually own one of these, and would still kind of like to, but I am not sure that it would be a fit for my life these days, especially as the garage-hog it would be.
Boy, they’re SIK alright.
…except this is beautiful and the Tesla is not.
Especially with that interior. The dashboard reminds me of a PS3 game. We have a 2013 on sale at work for nearly 50K. Whatever. I’d rather have my Grandpa’s ’69 Continental. It was triple black. Gorgeous.
If I had any complaint with the styling of the later ones it’s that the competition ond lower tier Mercurys largely had caught up with the boxy styling, making the Continental more anonymous as the 60s progressed. I actually find many of the later updates and front ends more visually flattering but none stand out from the pack the way the original 61s did. I guess that’s the problem with style pioneers.
The unibody is what specifically attracts me, these were legitimately overbuilt and its very apparent when you look through one and see the reenforcements and note how thick the steel is in places, their extra hefty weight tells the tale. I’d never claim a 60 year old car to be safe but these can accurately be described as “built like tanks”, a claim that people often make universally about old cars but typically isn’t demonstrably true, the Continentals are the exception.
I continue to like how the full-size Mercury cars got lots of “family resemblance” to these; I find the L-M look very appealing, 50-plus years later!
Additional thought: every couple of decades the diamond quilt trim pattern comes back into interiors. There was the 55 Stude President Speedster, then these late 60s Lincolns and Mercurys and now some in showrooms now.
Ford remained with the headlight embedded within the grille look, for far too long. It never really added a sense of luxury IMO. Especially later, when it clearly appeared as a span of plastic.
Continued towards the mid ’70s. These full width grille/headlight designs often highlighting the bugs, bees, and moths that collected there.
Tesla Model S looks quite generic, and not all that American.
The suicide door Continentals are unmistakably American. Timeless, unique in all the world. (To steal a T-Bird tagline)
Great article! These were “Premium Touring Cars “. I was only 4 years old when they built this one but I do remember these when I got to be around 5-6 years old. Absolutely loved riding around in them! Like being in a “dream “, the brochures were just like life was, gorgeous touring cars with absolutely no issues with gas mileage. Gasoline was considered a necessity like oil or water or air. Price?- “Eh, whatever “. You were in heaven and didn’t even know it. Gotta hand it to Lincoln, they kept the dream alive all the way till 1979.
My Dad had a 69, silver with the black hard top. We took that car on all sorts of vacations! It felt like you were driving a big boat, but on land. It was in excellent condition. The place my Dad worked at called it the “mafia car”!
Cadillacs of the 60s drove a bit nicer IMO. But they werent screwed together to the same standard of these Lincolns. The Lincolns were overbuilt tanks, you could tell as soon as you opened one of those heavy doors.