Lincoln Capri: Lincoln’s full-size luxury car of the 1950s

The Lincoln Capri was a full-size luxury car sold by Lincoln from 1952 until 1959. It took its name from the Italian island in the Gulf of Naples and began life as a premium version of the two-door Lincoln Cosmopolitan before becoming the standard Lincoln line.

Lincoln Capri at a glance

Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Capri.

History of the Lincoln Capri

The Capri appeared in 1952 as an up-trimmed two-door version of the Lincoln Cosmopolitan and quickly became the premium Lincoln, selling 14,342 cars in its first year against the Cosmopolitan. With the Continental out of production since 1948, the Capri became the flagship by default while Ford worked on the return of the Continental name with the 1956 Mark II. It competed with the Cadillac Series 62, Chrysler New Yorker and Packard Pacific, and its price of $3,665 for the convertible was close to that of similarly sized rivals.

The first-generation car used a new 90-degree Lincoln V8, a 317 cu in overhead-valve Y-block of 160 hp; Popular Mechanics timed one from 0 to 60 mph in 14.8 seconds in 1952. For 1955 the engine grew to 341 cu in and 225 hp with a 8.5:1 compression ratio and a four-barrel Holley carburettor, mated to a three-speed Turbo-Drive automatic. That year the Capri came as a two-door hardtop coupé, a two-door convertible and a four-door sedan on a 3,120 mm wheelbase, and 23,673 were sold – 87 per cent of Lincoln’s output, though down from 29,552 in 1954.

For 1956 the Capri shared a division-wide restyling and gained a 6.0-litre Y-block V8 of 285 hp, a 12-volt electrical system and a place below the new Lincoln Premiere, which became the upper Lincoln. The convertible disappeared, sales fell to 8,791, and the styling borrowed from the Mercury XM-800 and Lincoln Futura concept cars. For 1957 a new camshaft and 10:1 compression raised output to 300 hp, fins became more pronounced, and buyers could choose from 76 two-tone colour combinations; sales fell again to 5,900.

The 1958–1959 Capri was the first Lincoln built at the new Wixom plant in Michigan and used a unibody platform like the Lincoln-Zephyr and the original Continental. It was the base model below the Premiere and one of the largest cars ever made: 5,817 mm long and 2,035 mm wide on a 3,327 mm wheelbase, longer than contemporary Cadillacs and Imperials, with canted headlights and scalloped wings. Lincoln lost over $60 million between 1958 and 1960, partly because of the cost of developing what was perhaps the largest unibody car ever built, and the 1958 recession hit sales of all models. After 1959 the Capri name was dropped and the model line was replaced by the 1961 Lincoln Continental.

Design and features

• Y-block V8s: from the 160 hp 5.2-litre of 1952 to the 300 hp 6.0-litre of 1957.
• Flagship by default: the premium Lincoln between the end of the Continental in 1948 and the 1956 Mark II.
• Space-age styling: 1956–1957 cars borrowed motifs from the Mercury XM-800 and Lincoln Futura show cars.
• Huge final generation: the 1958–1959 unibody Capri was the longest Lincoln ever built.

Lincoln Capri versions

• First generation (1952–1955): two-door hardtop, convertible and, from 1955, four-door sedan.
• Second generation (1956–1957): hardtop coupé and four-door, with the convertible dropped.
• Third generation (1958–1959): unibody cars, including a four-door landau hardtop from 1957.

The Capri shared the showroom with the Lincoln Cosmopolitan and was later joined by the Lincoln Premiere; its styling borrowed from the Lincoln Futura. More Lincolns are in the Lincoln collection.

Video: 1953 Lincoln Capri

Video by the uploader on YouTube.

Sources

• Lincoln Capri, English Wikipedia: history, engines, sales, dimensions