2001 Lincoln Continental Review

Lincoln, which had a tradition of making tasteful, stylish cars, got off track in the late 1950s, and built huge glitzy models with prominent tailfins. But this Ford Motor luxury division was among the first automakers to abandon such models in the early 1960s, when it began making some of the most elegant luxury cars America had seen.


The first such Lincoln was the revolutionary 1961 Continental, which had timeless, classic styling that looked so good it was retained through 1969. The prestigious Industrial Design Institute took a look at the 1961 Lincoln and called it an ''outstanding contribution of simplicity and design elegance.''


The Continental's design originally was meant for the Ford Thunderbird, but Ford wisely decided that the Thunderbird needed a racier body and that finely chiseled, sculptured styling belonged on a Lincoln.


Some analysts figured that the 1961 Continental cost more to design, develop and make than any previous Lincoln.


The car was a gamble because it was a radical departure from the hulking 1960 model. While large, the 1961 Continental rode on a 123-inch wheelbase that was eight inches shorter than that of its predecessor's. The new car also was 14 inches shorter overall, three inches lower and nearly two inches narrower. It was hundreds of pounds lighter, although it looked as if it weighed at least 1,000 pounds less. There wasn't even a hint of a tailfin.


The 1961 Continental was sold as a sedan with a thin center roof pillar and as the first four-door convertible since the 1951 Frazer Manhattan. Indeed, the Continental was the world's only four-door convertible. Side glass and window frames slid out of sight, as did the convertible top.


Both the sedan and convertible had a crisply styled interior and unusual center-opening doors, with rear doors opening toward the back of the car and door handles placed alongside each other. One nice thing was that you could see all fenders from the driver's seat when parking.


The Continental's beauty was more than skin-deep. It had advanced engineering, with a rigid unit frame and body, finely machined parts, extensive insulation, good rust protection--at a time when many automakers paid little attention to rust prevention--and long-life components such as a sealed electrical system.


Handling was nimble, and the ride was smooth. Powering the car was a silky 430-cubic-inch V-8 that produced 300 horsepower. Each engine was bench tested for three hours, partly disassembled, inspected, reassembled and tested again before being put in a car. Each Lincoln off the line also got a 12-mile road test with almost 200 items checked.


Those were amazing procedures for a mass-produced car, which carried double the warranty protection of other 1961 models. Its two-year, 24,000-mile warranty was unprecedented.


The gamble, and all that effort, paid off. The sedan cost $6,067 and the convertible $6,713. Those prices made the car more expensive than many models from archrival Cadillac, but 1961 Continental sales were more than double those of the 1960 model.


There were few changes for 1962 and 1963, although horsepower was raised to 320. By 1964, the Continental had stolen many sales from Cadillac and eaten into sales of the luxurious Chrysler Imperial. While it kept the basic design of the 1961 model, the identical 1964 and 1965 Lincoln Continental had enough changes to qualify them as second-generation versions of the original.


For one thing, the wheelbase was stretched three inches to 126 inches for a smoother ride and surer handling. Additional rear overhang allowed more trunk space and extra room for a lower-profile convertible top. It also allowed more rear leg room and three-inch-longer rear doors for easier entry and exit. A new full-width dashboard and shorter steering column helped provide more room up front.


Happily, the weight didn't increase much, and the Continental still was shorter than a Cadillac and Imperial. The grille was revised with five vertical bars and there was a deeper and newly ''lipped'' trunk lid for a slightly more substantial rear appearance.


Previous models had windows that sloped inward toward the roof, marking one of the first uses of curved side glass for production cars. But the 1964 model's side glass was made flat to allow more shoulder room.


Among new standard items for the 1964 model were a vertically adjustable steering column, larger wheels that allowed better brake cooling and recalibrated springs and shock absorbers.


The Continental thus stayed much the same, as Lincoln initially promised it would. Meanwhile, Cadillac was annoying potential customers by constantly revising its models.


The 1965 Continental didn't cost a dollar more, although Lincoln added front disc brakes to the Continental's long list of standard features. There were only minor styling updates, such as a mildly revised grille. Air conditioning, power front seats and a new vinyl roof for the sedan were the only major options.


Lincoln sales rose in 1965, as they had done every year since 1961. Considering the Continental's design, even Cadillac wasn't surprised.




CLASSIC CARS