1958 Continental Mark III V12 coupe

This is a serious stab at creating a true follow-up to the gorgeous Mark II of '56 and '57. I've done an earlier version but that one was tongue-in-cheek, here. This version was created with an eye toward full production... Biggest change beyond the new proportions are the restyled rear fenders. I modified the front fender "scallop" motif for these new, shorter rear fenders, tying the side together in a more cohesive way than the way they were. I also kept the rear wheelwells open instead of skirted, to more closely align this III with the II and to keep the car as light appearing as possible. The "T-Bird" style roof with flat, inset rear window would include a powered center section, sliding down behind the rear seat and a small, stainless steel visor powers out from the roof when the backlight is lowered.

That long hood points to the first production postwar V12 in the American luxury class. The lowered body and roofline, as in the '58 Thunderbird, would mean a raised driveline "hump" necessitating a full length console front-to-rear and four bucket seats. Leathers and fabrics would rival the crosstown competition, the '58 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham.

The roof of this example is clad in dark-tinted brushed stainless steel panels which perfectly complements the dusty rose metallic body color. Pink-and-Gray were my college's school colors and I'll consider this an homage to my recently missed 35th Reunion!

the first ladies Bubbletop Lincoln, the Camelot Continental

U.S. Secret Service Vehicle 297-X

The single piece plexiglas roof afforded protection from the elements for the President and First Lady Jackie Kennedy during public events. It was made of the same material used for the nose gunner compartment on B-24 bombers in World War II. However, it was not bullet resistant. The Bubble Top converted into a formal limousine using black vinyl panels that were stored in the trunk. The panels were lost after the car left government service.

Built to order by Hess and Eisenhardt of Cincinnati

 The Elwood Engel-designed and new-for-1961 Lincoln Continental’s stature and expression made it a natural fit with the Kennedy White House; a confident, expansive but also generation-shifting environment that combined homegrown American success with flair, style and sophistication.

Ford Motor Company had a long-established relationship with the White House fleet, making it natural for the Treasury Department’s Secret Service to turn to Ford to supply the automobiles that transported the President, his family and their official guests. Ford, in turn, relied upon Hess & Eisenhardt of Cincinnati to make the numerous changes that White House fleet service required.

 Known by its Secret Service fleet number, 297-X, the new car was intended for more extensive use.
It proved to be so successful in both practical and aesthetic terms that a second car was requested by the Secret Service.

Over its years in the White House fleet, the Continental Bubbletop’s luxurious and spacious interior hosted an endless stream of dignitaries, diplomats and important guests. In addition to Jacqueline Kennedy, who favored this car among the many available to her, passengers included Pope Paul VI, Mrs. Lopez Mateos, the First Lady of Mexico, President Lyndon Johnson, Luci Baines Johnson, Vice Presidents Hubert Humphrey and Spiro Agnew, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and wife Imelda, and the Apollo astronauts and their wives.

As a result, this Continental Bubbletop remains without doubt one of the most important parade cars in America’s history.

It was in the White House fleet until 1970, after which it was donated by the Ford Motor Company to the Henry Ford Museum in 1972.

In 1985, 297-X was purchased by and displayed at the Imperial Palace Collection before entering a private collection, where it remained until early 2005, when it joined the John Quinn collection.

 It has been meticulously and consistently maintained throughout its life, first by the U.S. Secret Service, to whom reliability and the comfort and security of passengers is paramount, and later by a succession of caring owners who recognized its unique historical significance. Its odometer shows only 15,276 miles at the time of writing, although it presumably covered many more than that in the belly of the U.S. Air Force cargo planes that carried it on many ceremonial trips abroad.

Info from http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?SaleCode=MO10&CarID=r170&fc=0 prompted by and article and full gallery in the Cars and Parts magazine, formerly Auto Enthusiast, August 2014 issue

Desinged by Zocchi, painted by Hollenbeck, pinstriped by Himsl... that is one hell of a list

1956 Lincoln Mark II, photo from http://www.carbuffs.com/zocchilincolnmark56.htm

2014 Lincoln Continental Flagship Sedan: Repost

This rendering of a large, über luxurious Lincoln Continental sedan has been viewed more than 5,000 times in the past few weeks. It must have been picked up by a larger website. I thought I'd post it front and center for a few days to make it easier for everyone to find, lol. Actually, this little blog has been picking up lately, with close to 60,000 views just last month. I need to finish a few new cars but it may not be until the weekend. Thanks for checking in!

Slinkin' Lincoln II

1970 Lincoln Continental sedan, chopped roof, "fixed" door handles, chrome rocker panel trim added, dog-dish hubcaps with embossed Lincoln "star" created... This very subtle custom would feature the dark gray metallic paint matching the '85 Town Car I drove for years, as would the single red coachst ripe, hand painted of course. The aqua and red trim color scheme derives from Tiffany's Christmas packaging, something the "highbrows" would already know as my Slinkin' Lincoln cruised past them. The interior would feature woven leather strips in aquas, reds, and grays. Blackwalls and painted steel wheels, in this case, custom made 18-inchers, round out my current aesthetic taste!

I did a chop many years ago which I named Slinkin' Lincoln. It was also a '70 Lincoln. I can't find an image to link to right now but it was pretty crude, lol. Probably dates to 2006.

Mid '60s UK Zodiak-sized Lincoln Continental Coupe

Beginning as a tongue-in-cheek project, I've found changing all the proportions of a 1966 Lincoln Continental 2-door coupe gives us an interesting compact-sized luxury car. I liken it to the handsome British Ford Zephyrs and Zodiaks of the 1960s. Perhaps a Ghia-built coupe based on Lincoln's lines but built on a Zodiak chassis may have looked something like this. I think it looks a bit like those great Lancia and big Fiat coupes of the late Sixties and early Seventies. I added a skyline from Australia, Perth I believe, a likely market for this car had it been offered. If you "squint" I think it has a bit of an early '70s Rolls Royce Camargue look to it.

Lincoln Continental Starts Off the New Year Right!

My latest Lincoln chop utilizes a 1950s Lincoln tagline, the "Living Garage" concept. The car itself is a low and wide luxury sport sedan. The aero rear deck is accentuated to imply the famous Continental "hump" and doors are center opening in the traditional manner. High-powered gas and plug-in electric drivetrains would be available, as well as electronic all-wheel drive. Click on the image to enlarge and you'll notice the rear window is divided like the classic Continentals of the late '50s (and the Breezeway sedans from Mercury in the 1960s). The center section would retract slightly to enhance airflow, just as the originals did.

Bring Back the Big Lincoln! 2015 MkTC

Using today's Lincoln design language, why aren't they fielding a large, rear-wheel drive luxury sedan? All of their cues work quite well in a larger, more elegant manner. The roof could be a large powered sunroof like the smaller MKZ, but perhaps ending in a 1950s overhang instead of lying flat over the backlight. The backlight could also be programmed to lower for ventilation, bringing back memories of the late Fifties Marks and the Sixties Breezeways. Slim C pillar opera windows are beautifully sculptured with 24kt gold Lincoln Star logos embedded in them. This rear-wheel drive based platform offers electronically controlled all-wheel drive, too.

Focus-sized Lincoln Convertible–the Capri is Back!

I probably should have waited to post this, spread them out a bit since I so rarely have time to work on "my cars" these days, but I finished this just after the Buick Regal Electra Touring, below, so here it is: the 2015 Lincoln MKE Capri convertible.

This would be a Focus-sized Lincoln, below the MKZ, but would include a convertible and coupe in addition to a sedan and crossover. I illustrated this one in the optional Pewter-and-Navy Luxury group, a nod to the fabulous Designer Editions of the past. The two tone paint would be separated on the side by a full-length chrome spear just below the window line, and both colors would have a silver-and-gold metallic flecked clearcoat to tie them together.

The interior would feature four bucket seats in all models, and would include optional fine fabrics in addition to leather, with one having button-tufted seats evocative of the '61 Lincoln's, themselves evocative of the fabulous Eames chairs of the Fifties.. There would be several choices of interior colors including mono- and duo-tones. Advertising would feature these fabrics and interior colors. Perhaps it would finally jolt the industry into offering something more than gray and beige leather.

Happy Veterans Day 2013! New MKZ Continental

2015 Lincoln MKZ Continental Touring Sedan, Pucci Edition

What started out as a quick chop to add more glass to the MKZ's cool fastback roofline, ended up being a second generation dual hatchback with electrically-assisted "clap-hand" doors. To manage the rear trunk cutline better, I made this glass-roofed sedan a hatchback. moving the cutline up into the roof pillar matching the existing rear door's cutline. Using an existing division on the edge of the trunk, I've made it a cutline as well. Picking up an idea from a Lincoln concept car of several years ago, instead of opening the entire hatch, a small "drawer" at the edge of the trunk would slide open with a fob button, revealing a beautifully finished luggage drawer complete with secondary top. Once the packages were stored, the top would lower ensuring all would fit nicely as it all glides back into the trunk. I sectioned the body a few inches, an old hot rod trick, making the body sides lower and less massive, and added that flowing third window.

This Pucci edition recalls the great Marks of the '70s and '80s. It comes in a very subtle two-toned Aubergine and Smoke Pearlescent with micro-thin areas of gold dust embedded into the paint at the color breaks. The effect of the pearl and gold clear-coat layers is a magnificent color shifting of all panels making the transitions even more subtle. A 24k gold Lincoln "Star" is embedded in the rear side glass, not only evoking those classic opera window logos, but is also taxed as a piece of jewelry recalling the early 1960s Imperial Crown gold crests. It is this American/European mix of function and style that lead me to name this hatchback MKZ, the Continental Touring Sedan. It signals the rebirth of the Continental nameplate. In addition there would be a flagship sedan, The Continental Town Car, as well as a new Continental Mark coupe.

I dedicate my newest Lincoln chop to America's veterans. I chose The American Luxury Car, and a European designer to celebrate Veterans' Day. We saved Europe and have gone through Hell and high water with them. I think this union of American luxury and European fashion celebrates what our veterans fought for. My dad served for almost 23 years and I know the cost of that service. Today my heart goes out to all, as always.

2014 Lincoln MK-9E coupe. Plug-in Sports Luxury

Click on image to enlarge, as always, here at casey/artandcolour.

Lincoln MK-9E—This is my attempt at adapting Lincoln's current design language to the proportions of the late, and lamented, Marks VII and VIII. RWD and AWD would be available, as well as a Twin-turbo V8 or Plug-in hybrid with range extending EcoBoost 3 liter V6. Power Panoramic roof is standard, as are highly detailed wheels with body-color anodized as well as polished- and brushed-alloy wheels. The Eighties and Nineties are retro-ed in various ways, it's not too early, lol! The unique door handles resemble those on "suicide" door sedans, but in this case, the chromed portion mounted on the body next to the door is the receiver for the Smart Key and is touch-sensitive, descending quickly into the body revealing a clean, and, chromed, fingergrip for the door. The doors are power soft-opening-and-closing like the finest über German luxury cars.

I created this new Mark 9E, and made it this color, because of a cool Lincoln Mark VIII I used to see almost daily at my local grocery store. It belonged to a young man that works there, inherited from his late Dad. I took quite a few pics of his car, which while not perfect was quite a nice example. I thought I'd post those photos along with this chop when I finished, but of course, "the best laid plans of mice and men..." I've combed my eFolders going back a year and I can't find ANY of the photos I shot of his car. I have no idea where they may be. Since I can't find any of them, I'm thinking I must have put them all in a separate folder with some arcane name that made sense at the time, but which I can't recall right now. I only have about 35,000 photos to go through, so I'm not sure I'll ever find them, lol. Since I shot them, the car has died and was too expensive to repair. Let this Photoshopped Mark 9E be an homage to that once and beautiful automobile!

I've created a couple of other Mark 9s, or more correctly, Mark IXs:
Mark IX BiTurbo V12
Mark IX Luxury Coupe
Mark GT/V12 Sports Coupe

And of course, check out the "Labels" on the side for more Lincolns or to see if I've designed any other cars you'd like!

What if. . . Mark II Slantback?

The 1956-57 Mark II coupe is a tours-de-force. It is elegance personified with its formal roof and clean lines. It is one of the cleanest cars of the Fifties decade.

With this chop, I'm exploring what the car may have looked like without the severely formal and close-coupled roof.  I gave it a faster roofline and backlight. I straightened out the classic body contour kickup in the rear quarters and, obviously, gave it rear fender skirts and chromed rockerpanel trim.  Smaller details include moving the exhaust outlets down from below the taillights to below the bumper, thus extending the "tubular" rocker panel trim. I filled in the former exhaust pods and glassed-over the license plate recess. 

I'm not in any way "improving" the Mark II with these changes, that would be impossible! But I think this look could have been developed into a stunning car by the Mark's stylists had they gone in this direction!

Earliest Chops: Crude, Outside-the-Box

Some of my earliest digitally-modified cars. The technique! Or lack of it! These date to the 2005-07 era. Many were done in less than an hour. I was participating nightly in Autoweek's Combustion Chamber, an online forum. Someone would ask "what if" about a various cars and sometimes I'd do a quick chop and post it as fast as I could. Still, I like looking back at these.

International Harvester Travelall "Sedan Pickup." Behold my suicide door 4 door pickup with wraparound glass and an immense rear seat at the expense of a very short pickup box. Answers a question no one has ever asked. 2007-ish.

Exaggerated stab at a Toyota hybrid sedan, ca 2005-06. Interestingly, spy shots of the next '14 Corolla have some similarities with this futurist rendering.

Done in 2006 or 2007 this was my attempt to show GM that, yes, Saab's DNA could be made to work with a crossover... Body modified from some European GM crossover from back then.

This Wildcat was done just a few days after the first Enclave prototype pics were released, 2006 or '07? It was to be a tall, AWD, Enclave based sedan with a touch of Thirties Buick trunkback sedans in the rear.

I'm pretty sure this is Chop #1. It's an Escalade sedan. I was very interested in seeing what a really tall, truck-based sedan would look like. To me, the Escalade was a station wagon, and thus should have sedan and coupe variants. I had used Photoshop professionally for my book designs and production, color-correcting images, fading, feathering, collages, etc, but had never tried to modify a photograph into something entirely different. I think I might revisit this concept with the newest Escalade one of these days.

A quick attempt to turn a European Ford concept car, the Iosis if I remember correctly, into a domestic Lincoln sedan. I used the then-current Lincoln grille cues in a larger/wider form. I still like this front end. The rest of the car was pulled and made taller. I used the tall, slim C-pillar windows that classic Town Cars sported. 2007-ish.

Continental for 1958

Opalescent Pistachio Point Green lacquer perfectly highlights the lines of this Wixom-built '58 Continental coupe. Altering the new-that-year unibody Lincoln, I changed the proportions for more of a personal coupe appearance. The hood length looks back to the Classic era consisting of almost half of the length of the car. The four passenger interior would have been based on the '58 Thunderbird, itself brand new that year and also built at the fabled Wixom plant. The roof would have been available in linen-covered steel or brushed stainless to match the front fender coves.

And, yes, I started out with the regular Lincoln that year, not the upscale Continental. This mockup would have been early in the process and trim was still being mixed and matched and developed...

I also left off the spare tire hump... Rocketships don't need no stinkin' spare tires, lol.

Future Lincoln Town Car?

I created this fully contemporary Lincoln Town Car replacement more than three years ago. There is still no real replacement from Lincoln for this once-popular long wheelbase sedan, and I can honestly say that my rendering would still look good in a Lincoln showroom today.

Should Lincoln be preparing an über sedan, perhaps with an extended rear wheel drive platform?

2014 Lincoln Continental. 21st Century Flagship

Artandcolour's admittedly over-the-top Lincoln flagship, the 2014 Continental sedan. Besides dwarfing its contemporaries in wheelbase and interior room, Lincoln's aluminum and carbon-fiber construction allows it to be the lightest in weight among its competitors. Add in a twin-turbo V12 Eco-Boost Hybrid drivetrain capable of 0-62 in 5 seconds and a combined city/highway mileage of 45mpg, and you have a very capable performer well able to carry the mantle of this vaunted brand. Polished aluminum fender shields, a new Lincoln styling cue, are thermostatically controlled engine compartment vents as well as inlets for the HVAC system. 22" wheels are aerodyamically designed for maximum brake cooling.

• For the next 2 weeks, several of my cars are posted at Autoextremist.com. Peter De Lorenzo is gracious as always to allow my work to be seen by his audience. Scroll down, here.

Something Different: Lincoln MK/GT V12

This is a quick chop representing a two-seater Lincoln V12 sports coupe, the MK/GT. It would be the marque's "halo car" and be priced in the high $60Ks. All contemporary electronics would be present, the V12 would use Eco-Boost technology, and perhaps even a hybrid-assisted, stop/start drivetrain. Click image to enlarge to a full 1100 pixels.

1958 Lincoln Premiere Coupe Pickup

Just the thing for the "Gentleman Farmer" of 1958—the Lincoln Coupe Pickup.

C  H O P S — While "chatting" on FB today, in a post about the original '57 Ranchero and '59 El Camino, I mentioned that I liked both of thm, but that I'd like an uplevel interior in them. The Fairlane 500 and Impala trim would have been nice to be able to choose, but then again, in that time period, both of those car-based trucks were considered pretty "fancy" anyway, even with their bargain basement interiors. I began to wonder what a similar period Lincoln or Cadillac car-based pickup would look like. At the time, I thought the Lincoln Mark's reversed C pillar would look great on a pickup. I had a few minutes tonight to relax, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I soon realized that I preferred the "regular" Lincoln Premiere's wraparound rear window. It would give a bit more space behind the front seats, perhaps to enable them to recline, and it also gives a nice symmetry with the front windshield. And it's not as if the car needed an extra foot of cargo space, lol, this first series of unit-bodied Lincolns was almost 19-feet long to begin with! I "painted" the car in a period salmon-beige with a white roof and Photoshopped a new background in that complimented those new colors. I also added some of my flowers, lol. I think this worked out a million times better than expected. At least! : )

My Lincoln Project Continues: MKS/2 Plug-In

Bringing Two-Tone Back! My newest Lincoln illustrated in Palm Springs with the available Copper and Pewter Luxury Group.

C H O P S — My latest Lincoln would be a sleek plug-in Hybrid, RWD/AWD replacement for their MKS. The MKS on sale now, at its core, is based on a Volvo platform, from the days Ford owned that Swedish marque. I used Volvo's new S60 sport sedan as the base for this sedan then. I extended the front end to make room for a brand-new Inline 6 EcoBoost, the first new inline engine from a domestic automaker in quite some time. I also extended the rear overhang for more trunk space and so the rear seat could be moved back a few inches for more legroom. Most obvious, perhaps, is a return to a classic two-tone paint job, in this case, the Copper and Pewter Luxury Group. Lincoln has a long history of designer packages and "luxury groups" based on colors and this bold 21st century interpretation just might help get New Lincoln noticed. 

I placed this new Lincoln in front of a classic Mid Century Modern home in Palm Springs I found while Googling. I think you'll agree it's a classic pairing.

2020 Lincoln MKH/3

The Future of the Performance Luxury Sedan?

Well, sometimes you just want to have fun: Turning a Ferrari FF into a H-igh-performance H-ydrogen fuel-cell H-ybrid Lincoln kinda fun!  The MKH/3. Click on image to enlarge, as always.

This roomy-but-small Lincoln would be offered in the year 2020 and would include a hydrogen fuel-cell, as well as a tiny supercharged diesel engine and programmable lithium-ion hybrid drivetrain. "Gas" mileage would be measured in the months, not miles and when plugged into the grid at night, your little Hot Rod Lincoln would create enough energy to run your 21st century clean & green home the next day. A solar-paneled roof would help power the Lincoln's batteries during the day.

Base photo was the just-introduced Novitec-Rosso Ferrari FF.