Vice president’s Coupé to be hammered away
A 1956 Continental Coupé MkII once the property of 49th Governor to New York and 41st Vice President, Norman Rockefeller, is to be auctioned by Historics on 17 Apri.
Previously on display at the Volo Auto Museum in Chicago, Illinois, the car, built to Rockefeller’s specification, was brought into the UK two years ago by a private collector and maintained by the Brooklands Motor Company.
Historics’ auction negotiator, Matthew Priddy, said: ‘It’s big, red, comfortable and in excellent condition.’ The Continental is estimated to fetch £43,000-52,000 at auction, though it is also listed online for a fixed price of £48,000 should interested parties want to sidestep the auction.
Matthew Priddy added: ‘For £48,000, the next owner is buying a serious amount of motor car and I guarantee they won’t find another one coming the other way’.
Classic Car Weekly’s auctions editor, Richard Barnett, said: ‘ The estimate is fair, particularly when you consider how rare these cars were even when new. The fact they were built up to a quality rivalling Crewe’s cars works in its favour, and being restored, even more so. It’s a cracking offering.’
The 1956-57 Continental MkII is the only car ever marketed by the Continental Division during its existence; subsequent Continentals were built after the Division was integrated with the Lincoln Division. All previous Continentals were built by Lincoln and Continental was only the model name.
Mark Stone
] historics.co.uk