Description
Offered for sale is an incredibly solid and original example of the iconic American land yacht: a gorgeous, fourth generation “suicide door” 1966 Lincoln Continental convertible finished in tasteful Huron Blue Metallic over Dark Blue. No other car on the road feels as era-specifically outrageous or opulent. It’s big. American big. For all of its (well deserved) glory, Cadillac was briefly forgotten when the Continental came out. This was the car to have, and 47 years later it still is. While that is due to some extent to the exposure it received from HBO’s hit show “Entourage”, the car certainly deserves some credit of its own.
With long, robust and deliberate styling lines, nothing said success like the Continental. It had it all – power top, incredibly smooth drive quality, meaty 462 7.6L V8 engine, cushy seats, power everything, etc. Indelibly complicated, the car represented the strength of the U.S. economy of that era. Times have changed, but the car has not. First of all, it’s absolutely beautiful. With a collection full of vintage European sports cars, I can report that nothing gets more attention than the Continental. It’s a car where you feel obligated to wrap your free arm around the back of the front seat and sink back into a position of ownership – and not just of the car, but of everything around you. It’s incredibly difficult for a company to design a car that has so much effect on its driver, or perhaps more importantly, how the world perceives its driver, but Lincoln did it in spades with the immensely popular Continental.
As the pictures show, this extremely solid example is in excellent original condition. The finish is great, maintaining depth and luster and marred only by minor chips and scratches that have been professionally touched-up and don’t even really show up in any of the pictures. The body is straight, not wavy, the panel fit is consistent and both the body and the undercarriage appear to be original and free of rust. All of the chrome and glass is in excellent original condition showing only negligible imperfections. Finished in gorgeous complimentary dark blue, the seats, interior panels, dash and carpets are all in excellent condition, showing only minimal wear. The power soft top is also in superb shape and is fully operational using both the dash-mounted switch and the turn-key behind the gas cap lid.
The car starts easily, its immense 4 Barrel carbureted 462 engine idling smoothly and rumbling satisfyingly under acceleration. The transmission shifts smoothly through all of the gears and the car handles with shocking ease, the power steering allowing for full fluid wheel turn with a single finger on the steering wheel. It’s an absolute joy to drive, whether tooling through down or cruising down the highway, and it harkens back to a time when life moved more slowly. But don’t confuse the smooth ride with it being underpowered. Putting out an impressive 340 horsepower and 485 lb. ft. of torque, when asked, the behemoth truly gets up and goes.
This is an excellent opportunity at acquiring an iconic example of Americana in excellent condition. Continental convertibles have realized a consistent up-tick in value for the last ten years and there doesn’t appear to be any end in sight, with fourth generation examples fetching prices upwards of $90,000. This fantastic example will be offered at a far more reasonable price and will undoubtedly prove a good collector car investment in the years to come.
