The 1957 Lincoln Premiere Four Door was a luxury car produced by the Lincoln-Mercury Division of the Ford Motor Company. The first generation of the Lincoln Premiere was produced for the 1956 and 1957 model years.
The Premiere is known to have been inspired by Ford’s 1955 Futura Show. The Lincoln brand gained more fame when years later the Hollywood “Batmobile” was designed from a Lincoln Futura concept car. The concept car had a plexiglass canopy and jet fighter type styling which had everything you needed for an into the future Batmobile.
Lincoln came out for the 1956 model year with all new models. These cars were lower, longer and wider which was the hallmark look of the 1950’s. Lincoln also changed their lineup hierarchy making the Capri the entry level Lincoln and making the new Premiere their top of the line Lincoln model.
The Lincoln Premiere was available as a hard top coupe, a four door hard top, and a convertible.
Styling Changes for the 1957 Lincoln Premiere
Styling changed for the 1957 model year, notably with big blade like rear fins, four headlights instead of two, more chrome trim and an engine with more horsepower. As a side note it was said that Lincoln management actually wanted these new tail fins to be two inches higher but designers nixed the idea. The tail fins were already among the biggest in 1957. Tail fins were a trademark of many car models during the late 1950’s but in regards to Lincoln it was only in 1957 that their cars had what one might call true fins.
The “Quadra-Lite” headlight setup used regular 7-inch headlights with 5-inch “road lamps” underneath turned on and off by a separate switch.
Since a true quad headlight configuration could be illegal in some states, the separate switch took care of that issue. Lincoln claimed that the 1957 Premiere was the first car with quad headlights, and had TV personality Ed Sullivan promote the cars. The Lincoln Premiere also featured four way power seats as standard equipment.
Lincoln Premiere sales for 1956 was strong. For 1957, Lincoln wanted to keep the sales high but felt changes needed to be made because of it’s competition. Lincoln believed it was essential to compete with the all new Forward Look from Chrysler. At the same time it should be noted that Lincoln used the same body shell from 1956.
New safety features on the 57 Premiere included a padded dash and a deep dish steering wheel in addition to more durable door latches.
1957 Lincoln Premiere Specifications
One engine was available for the 1957 Lincoln Premiere. This was a 368 cubic inch V-8 delivering 300 horsepower, up from the 285 HP of the 56 model.
Transmission was a Turbo-Drive three speed automatic.
Brakes were four wheel hydraulic drum.
Front suspension was independent coil springs with a stabilizer bar. Rear suspension
The wheelbase for both model years, 56 and 57, was 126.0 inches, three inches longer than the 1955 model, and for 1957 the overall length was increased almost two inches to 224.6. Width of the 1957 Premiere was 80.3 inches and height was 60.2 inches. Both slightly larger than the 56 models. Curb weight averaged about 4,700 lbs. The 1957 entry level Capri had the same dimensions as the 57 Premiere and most might say it looked extremely similar.
The Lincoln Premiere production numbers totaled 41,531 vehicles for the 1956 model year and 35,225 for 1957.
New car price for the 1957 Lincoln Premiere averaged about $5,000.
The Lincoln Motor Car Heritage Museum opened its doors to the public on August 9, 2014. The 15,000 sq. ft. facility is on the grounds of the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Hills, Michigan.
See additional Auto Museum Online articles on the links below…
The 1950 Lincoln Four Door Sport Sedan
The 1948 Lincoln Continental V-12 Convertible
References for this article includes Ford Lincoln Archives….. The Lincoln Motorcar by author Thomas E. Bonsall….The Lincoln Story : The Post War Years by author Thomas E. Bonsall…Lincoln & Continental 1946 -1980 : The Classic Post War Years by author Paul R. Woudenberg.
Lincoln Collector Cars
There is a very active collector club named the Lincoln and Continental Owners Club. One feature for members worldwide is a bulletin board. It is named The Lincoln & Continental Corner where members can post information about their cars and exchange technical information. It will also include Wanted and For Sale sections where LCOC members (only) can advertise for wanted items and list their cars and parts for the world to see. If you’re already and owner or are considering becoming one, this is a must see site. You’ll also find dates for National Meets on this site. See www.lcoc.org.
The rarest 1957 Lincoln Premiere model is the convertible with only 3,665 produced. It’s a rare automobile today. Current values for the 1957 convertible are around $50,000-$60,000 plus or minus depending on restoration and originality. The hardtop coupe may be $18,000 to $30,000 and the sedan values are perhaps slightly below those numbers.
(Article and photos copyright Auto Museum Online)