1961 Lincoln Continental Convertible

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This is one of the most imposing cars you will see on the road today! It is a 1961 Lincoln Continental Convertible finished in triple black. The car has been restored in the States and is in a very good. although not perfect condition.

In 1961. the Continental was completely redesigned by Elwood Engel. For the first time. the names Lincoln and Continental would be paired together outside the Mark Series; along with replacing the Continental Mark V. the 1961 Continental replaced the Lincoln Capri and Premiere. consolidating Lincoln into a single product line. Originally intended to be the 1961 Ford Thunderbird. the design was enlarged and slightly altered before being switched to the Lincoln line by Robert McNamara. One of the most striking features of the new Continental was its size. It was 14. 8 in (380 mm) shorter than its predecessor. So much smaller was this car. that advertising executives at Ford photographed a woman parallel parking a sedan for a magazine spread.

The new Continental's most recognized trademark. front-opening rear "suicide doors". was a purely practical decision. The new Continental rode on a wheelbase of 123 inches (3. 00 mm). and the doors were hinged from the rear to ease ingress and egress. When the Lincoln engineers were examining the back seats that styling had made up. the engineers kept hitting the rear doors with their feet. Hinging the doors from the rear solved the problem. The doors were to become the best-known feature of 1960s Lincolns. To simplify production. all cars were to be four-door models. and only two body styles were offered. sedan and convertible. The 1961 model was the first car manufactured in the U. S. to be sold with a 24. 00 mi (39. 00 km) or 2-year bumper-to-bumper warranty. It was also the first postwar four-door convertible from a major U. S. manufacturer. Walnut-paneling was on the doors.

Despite the smaller exterior dimensions. at 4. 27 lb (2. 35 kg). the new sedan was only 85 lb (39 kg) lighter than the lightest 1960 Lincoln four-door sedan (2 lb less than a two-door); at 5. 15 lb (2. 65 kg). the convertible outweighed its 1960 predecessor by 39 lb (18 kg). As a result (save for their respective nine-passenger models) the new Lincoln was still heavier than anything from Cadillac or Imperial.

This solid construction led to a rather enviable reputation as "Corporate management was determined to make it the finest mass-produced domestic automobile of its time and did so. "
The 1961 Continental was Elwood Engel's Magnum Opus. as he was responsible for the complete design of the car. It was a sales success. with 25. 60 sold during the first year of production.

This generation of Continental is favored by collectors and has appeared in many motion pictures. such as Goldfinger. The Matrix. The Last Action Hero. Kalifornia and the Inspector Gadget films. It has also appeared in the television series Pushing Daisies. in the opening sequence of the television series Entourage. and as the vehicle of choice for Michael Chiklis's character Vincent Savino in the series Vegas.

Our car is in the perfect colour scheme. rides on modern wire wheels which set the car off really well and bring it right up to date. It is a totally cool car for cruising around with your friends and draws a larger crown then any Lamborghini could!

We could not find a similar car in the UK and it has had all taxes paid and is now UK registered and taxed and MOT'd. Unrepeatable value!

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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