Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2013: The Land of Lincoln
Alright, so we're not quite talking about the state of Illinois. Yet, the land we're featuring below was filled with Lincolns, so that counts, right? Lincoln was the official car of this year's Concours d'Elegance and some of the most beautiful examples of this make came out for the event. The Lincoln name originates from Henry LeLand who founded Lincoln (and Cadillac), who named the car company after the first president he voted for in 1864 - Abraham Lincoln.
We start off with the beautiful coachbuilt cars of Lincoln, like this 1931 Lincoln K Murphy Sport Phaeton.
This 1929 Lincoln L LeBaron Aero Phaeton is a one-off coach built by LeBaron. It was built to show off Ford's commitment to the aircraft industry. A brightly polished aluminum body with a non functioning tail rudder, it even has a dash mounted compass and altimeter to round out the aircraft theme.
This 1927 Lincoln L-134B Judkins Coaching Brougham is part of the National Automobile Museum's collection. It is an interpretation of a horse-drawn carriage, but with 90 "horses" drawing this carriage.
Meet "Sis" - a 1925 Lincoln L Brunn Roadster. The car was named "Sis" by its original owner. She loved the car so much, she modified her house to park the car in the living room!
Another museum car from the Nethercutt Collection is this 1921 Lincoln L Brunn Phaeton. This is one of the last years of Lincoln as a stand alone company. It was purchased by Ford in 1922.
Edsel Ford who took over Lincoln soon after it was purchased in 1922 by the Ford Motor Company worked with many of the best coachbuilders of the day. This 1935 Lincoln K LeBaron Convertible Coupe is a great example of that collaboration. LeBaron built more coaches for Lincoln then any of the other builders.
This 1937 Lincoln K Willoughby 7 Passenger Touring car is one of the first vehicles to use the iconic teardrop shaped headlight that many Lincolns and Fords are recognized for.
This is definitely one "FYNE CAR."Another classic from the Nethercutt Collection, this 1938 Lincoln K Twelve Judkins Touring Coupe is a beautiful car and was the personal car of Mr. Judkins, the coachbuilder, for many years.
This 1935 Lincoln K Series was part of the Preservation class. It was hard to believe that it had never been restored, as it was in pristine condition, a great example of some of the cars that still exist and are well-maintained.
This car and the one below were both owned by the son of the founder of Stetson Hats.
This 1940 Lincoln-Zephyr Convertible has some of my favorite grille work of any car. The Lincoln -Zephyr was introduced to bridge the gap between the Ford De Luxe line of cars and the higher end Lincolns of the time.
Very few of the 1942 Lincoln Continental Cabriolets exist today due to the outbreak of World War II. This is one of the first vehicles to use the Lincoln coat of arms emblem on the front.
Continental was originally intended to be a stand alone brand to compete with other higher-end companies of its time, such as Cadillac, but instead these cars were sold through the Lincoln dealerships. Both the convertible above and this coupe are great examples of the Continental Mark II cars.
This 1950 Lincoln Dietrich Presidential Convertible Limousine looks like any other Lincoln from the front, but ...
... when you get to the back you see the crazy removable "bubble top." This Lincoln Cosmopolitan was originally built for Harry S. Truman. It was Dwight D. Eisenhower, the second President to use the car, who suggested the use of a Plexiglas top so people could see him on rainy days.
This car was used by three Presidents, the last being John F. Kennedy, before it was returned to the Ford Motor Company.
The gathering of Lincolns at this years Concours d'Elegance was wonderful and clearly showed the metamorphosis this brand endured throughout the decades. One of our favorite Lincolns from the show will be coming to you later this week, so stay tuned!