1939 Lincoln Model K Brunn Touring Cabriolet

This 1939 Lincoln Presidential limousine was used from 1939 to 1950. The white house staff sent five pages of special instructions with the order of this vehicle. The list included extra-wide running boards, special platforms at the rear corners, and chrome handles at the rear and sides of the windshield for Secret Service agents. A special compartment was requested, behind the front seat, presumably for firearms. Another request was to have the back doors hinged at the rear rather than the front, presumably to make it easier for President Roosevelt in and out. To accommodate the extra weight of up to eleven people riding in or on the car (secret service staff), a heavy-duty suspension was installed. A siren and blinking red light were installed.

In 1942, the car was upgraded again with steel armor plating, bullet-resistant glass, bullet-resistant tubes in the tires, and revised front sheet metal. These features were added in response to the Pearl Harbor bombing and the United States entry into World War II.

The car was custom-made to make it easier to life President Roosevelt in and out, since his legs had become paralyzed from the fearsome and incurable disease of polio. Despite these hardships, President Roosevelt enjoyed riding in public, and the top of his 'Sunshine Special' convertible was often down as he greeted crowds.

The chassis was made by the Ford Motor Company of Detroit, Michigan. The body was built by the Brunn & Company of Buffalo, New York. Power was from a V-12, L-head engine that displaced 414 cubic-inches and developed 150 horsepower. The weight of the vehicle, with all the improvements, was 9,300 pounds. The original cost was $8,350.