1961 Lincoln Continental Convertible
Barrett-Jackson, Connecticut 26-29 June
THE ‘KENNEDY-ERA’ LINCOLNS, so named for their associations both happy and tragic with President John F Kennedy and family, have seen much renewed interest in the past few years. When introduced in 1961, the clean lines and slab-sided look, designed by Elwood Engel, were a gamechanger. Out went the gaudy fins and endless jewellery de rigueur on cars of the 1950s; in came the clean look of the Space Age. These Continentals were quite expensive when new, the convertible selling at $6713. Just 2857 convertibles were built in 1961 but the line continued to 1967.
This one in Wimbledon White, with its 7.0-litre V8 and automatic transmission, was described as in ‘good’ condition. That, in auction-speak, is often damning with faint praise. Old cars can be complicated and expensive to restore, of course, but a Lincoln Continental is far from the most complicated of them. However, the mechanism for the convertible top can prove tricky once the switches and actuators get out of sync, or break. The top folds into the boot, which opens automatically and adds new levels of excitement each time it is used.
This model is on that list of cars that can be great buys at $100,000 and terrible money-pits at $25,000. If your plans include showing the car at events and competitions, buy only the very best available and expect to pay that higher figure. But if you want nothing more than a distinctive summer top-down cruiser, then at just $27,500 this might well have been the car for you.
Dave Kinney is an auction analyst, an expert on the US market scene and publishes the Hagerty Price Guide.