Lincoln Cosmopolitan: Lincoln’s senior car of 1949–1954

The Lincoln Cosmopolitan was a full-size luxury car sold by Lincoln from the 1949 to the 1954 model year. It was the larger, “senior” Lincoln of the two post-war lines and became the first choice for the American presidential fleet.

Lincoln Cosmopolitan at a glance

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

History of the Lincoln Cosmopolitan

In 1949 Lincoln introduced its first post-war bodies as part of the new Lincoln-Mercury Division: a standard Lincoln based on the Mercury Eight and a larger Cosmopolitan with its own body and wheelbase. Both came from a last-minute revision of Ford’s post-war plans, in which the intended medium car became the junior Lincoln and the intended large car became the senior Cosmopolitan. The styling was the rounded “pontoon” look of the period, with headlights and tail lights recessed into the wings, no running boards, and rear-hinged “suicide” doors on all Lincoln-Mercury four-door sedans.

The Cosmopolitan came as a two-door in standard and Capri trim, a two-door convertible and a fastback Town Sedan, of which 7,302 were ordered before the body was dropped for 1950. Power came from the 337 cu in Ford flathead V8 shared with Ford heavy trucks, driving through a GM Hydramatic automatic because Ford had no automatic of its own and Packard could not supply enough Ultramatic units. Electro-hydraulic windows and front seat were standard, as were full wheel covers, rear fender skirts and whitewall tyres. Lincoln sold 73,507 cars in 1949 but only 28,150 in 1950, a fall of nearly 60 per cent.

For 1952 the Lincoln-Mercury line was redesigned around one basic body, and the Cosmopolitan lost both its unique body and its top position to the new Lincoln Capri. The two Lincolns kept their own longer rear quarters, grille, bumpers, lamps and trim to look bigger than the Mercury Monterey. Front-hinged rear doors became standard, the convertible was limited to the Capri and the Cosmopolitan was sold only as a two-door hardtop and a four-door sedan. Underneath there was a new ball-joint front suspension and a 317 cu in overhead-valve Lincoln Y-block V8 with a four-speed Hydramatic. Lincolns took the top four places in the Stock Car class of the Pan American Road Race in 1952 and 1953 and first and second in 1954.

The Cosmopolitan is best remembered as a presidential car. In 1950 the White House leased ten examples, customised by Henney and further modified by Hess and Eisenhardt, with extra headroom for tall silk hats; nine had enclosed bodies and one armoured convertible was reserved for President Truman. It was 6.1 m long, 2.0 m wide and weighed 2,900 kg, 770 kg more than a standard car, with a 152 hp V8. In 1954 President Eisenhower had the convertible fitted with a Plexiglas roof known as the “Bubble-top”, which stayed in presidential service until 1965. The 1949–1951 cars also became popular with customisers building “lead sleds”.

Design and features

• Senior Lincoln: a bigger body and longer wheelbase than the standard Lincoln of 1949–1951.
• Flathead V8 and Hydramatic: a truck-derived 337 cu in engine with a General Motors automatic.
• Suicide doors: rear-hinged rear doors on four-door Lincoln-Mercury sedans.
• Presidential service: the leased White House fleet and Eisenhower’s Bubble-top convertible.

Lincoln Cosmopolitan versions

• First generation (1949–1951): two-door, Capri two-door, convertible and Town Sedan on a unique body.
• Second generation (1952–1954): two-door hardtop and four-door sedan sharing the Mercury body.
• Presidential cars (1950): ten Henney-built cars, nine closed and one armoured convertible.

The Cosmopolitan gave up its top place to the Lincoln Capri in 1952 and shared its market with the Lincoln Premiere later in the decade. More Lincolns are in the Lincoln collection.

Sources

• Lincoln Cosmopolitan, English Wikipedia: history, engines, presidential cars