1940 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe

The Zephyr was introduced in 1936, a radical and beautiful example of the streamlining trend of the 30s. Zephyrs were all V-12s. The Zephyr was sold alongside the traditional Lincoln K models until the K was dropped at the end of 1939. The Zephyr and the new Continental became Lincoln's full line. After World War II, the Zephyr body continued through 1948, but the Zephyr name was dropped.

The Continental wasn't really intended to be a production car, rather, a special automobile that Edsel Ford wanted for himself. Bob Gregorie designed it for him - in crayon over a blueprint of a Zephyr chassis. Edsel wanted the car to resemble those he saw in Europe, thus the 'continental' spare tire at the rear. It was three inches lower than the Zephyr and seven inches longer, primarily in the hood. In addition to the Cabriolet, a Club Coupe was added late in the model year - just 54 were produced - created by adding a roof to the cabriolet, a practice unheard of in 1940.

In mid-1940, management decided to add a coupe body style to its established Continental cabriolet. While it is common to create a convertible from a coupe, Lincoln created the coupe by adding a roof to the cabriolet. The Lincoln custom body department built 54 coupes at the rate of one per day. Less than 10 are known to remain. This car is a time capsule, having only 600 original miles on the odometer. It is absolutely unrestored, having only battery, fan belts, radiator hoses, brake seals and inner tubes replaced to maintain operational condition over its 65 years. Purchased new by John Watson of Wayne, PA, as a backup for his 1940 Continental cabriolet, it remained garaged and covered. Sold by his estate in 1964 to Alfred Holmes, Jr., and then to Floyd Moore in 1970, Jim Schmidt has been, since 1997, its fourth caretaker.