Our featured vehicle is a beautifully restored 1941 Lincoln Limousine. This is a very rare Lincoln model with only 295 built. This model debuted after Lincoln’s big Model K was discontinued in 1940. The Model K with it’s V-8 engine first came out in 1931 with luxurious styling. The Lincoln Custom Limousine catered to a small group of wealthy buyers required large, comfortable and luxurious chauffeur driven automobiles. This model was Lincoln’s very low production flagship automobile.
The Limousine
Many people are fascinated with stretch limousines and often curious as to the people who ride in them. The first limousine was built in 1902 and provided a partition between the driver and passengers for the purpose of privacy. What we refer to as a stretch limousine ( longer than a standard automobile) actually was built in 1928 by a Fort Smith, Arkansas by a firm named Armbruster Coach Company.
Ford Buys Lincoln
Lincoln was formed in 1917 by Henry Leland. The company made a lot of money building airplane engines during World War One. After the war, Lincoln began building luxury automobiles. The automobile business faltered and Lincoln ended up in receivership. It was 1922 when Henry Ford took over Lincoln from receivership for $8 million and the rest is history.
1941 Lincoln Limousine Styling
The styling for the 1941 Lincoln Limousine goes to Eugene T. (Bob) Gregorie of the Ford Motor Company and was based on the Zephyr Limousines and Town Cars. Seating eight passengers, the automobile offered jump seats and a window behind the drivers seat.
The Lincoln Zephyr has the distinction of being the first streamlined automobile put into production. The Zephyr was intended to give Lincoln a lower priced entry vehicle much like the LaSalle was a lower priced entry vehicle for Cadillac. In fact, the lower priced Zephyr model debuting during the Great Depression went a long way in saving the Lincoln brand.
The Zephyr had all steel unibody construction molded into a aerodynamic design. The streamlined teardrop design was credited to Briggs Manufacturing which was a major body supplier to Ford. The front end of this design was then reworked by Edsel Ford and Ford designer Bob Gregorie.
Where the 1941 Lincoln Limousine was an expensive luxury automobile, the Lincoln Zephyr touted luxury but at a significantly lower price. Original new car price for the eight passenger 1941 Lincoln Limousine came in at about $3,000. The 1941 Lincoln Zephyr Sedan had a new car price of $1,500 before options.
1941 Lincoln Limousine Specifications
The 1941 Lincoln Limousine was built with a 292 cubic inch L-Head V-12 engine delivering 120 HP. The 292 cubic inch L-Head V-12’s that came out in 1940 were discontinued in 1948 and replaced with eight cylinder engines.
Transmission is a three speed manual with overdrive.
Brakes are four wheel hydraulic drums.
Suspension consists of solid front and live rear axles with transverse leaf springs.
As mentioned there were only 295 1941 Lincoln Limousines produced and this is out of a total 1941 Lincoln production of 17,700 vehicles.
Related Auto Museum Online articles you may find interesting include…
The 1941 Cadillac Convertible Coupe
Reference materials for this article include..Lincoln and Continental Classic Motorcars The Early Years by author Marvin Arnold…The Lincoln Continental Story From Zephyr to Mark II by Tim Howley… Stretching It: The Story of the Limousine by Michael L. Bromley.
The 1941 Lincoln Custom Limousine Collector Car
With only 295 examples of the 1941 Lincoln Custom Limousines produced, this model is obviously quite rare. The number of these models that exist today and in this type of fully restored condition are certainly even more rare.
As a side note, the 1941 Lincoln Custom Limousine model with it’s unique and luxurious styling was used in the Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather.
Available recent auction sale prices for the 1941 Lincoln Custom Limousine have ranged from $70,000-$80,000.
(Article and photos copyright Auto Museum Online)