Lincoln Town Car: the American luxury sedan that became a limousine

The Lincoln Town Car was a line of full-size luxury sedans sold by Lincoln from 1981 to 2011 across three generations. The name had earlier been used for the flagship trim of the Lincoln Continental; the stand-alone car became the last traditional American full-size sedan.

Lincoln Town Car at a glance

The second and third generations are described only briefly in the sources used here.

History of the Lincoln Town Car

The name comes from the town car body style of the early 1900s, in which an open driver’s compartment was combined with an enclosed passenger cabin, a design used by Duesenberg, Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Lincoln. In 1922 Edsel Ford bought a custom Lincoln L-Series town car for his father Henry, and in 1949 Cadillac’s de Ville series began the rivalry that shaped the Town Car’s market for the rest of the century.

Lincoln first used the name on the 1959–1960 Continental flagship, built jointly with coachbuilder Hess and Eisenhardt above the Mark IV. The formal C-pillar and padded vinyl roof allowed the rear seat to move back for more legroom without changing the wheelbase; the Town Car was meant for owner-drivers and the Limousine, with a glass partition, for chauffeurs. All were painted Presidential Black and production was limited to two cars a day: 214 Town Cars and 83 Limousines in two years, among the rarest Fords ever built.

For 1970 the Town Car returned as a trim package on the Lincoln Continental with leather and deep-pile carpet, and a Golden Anniversary edition of 1,500 cars marked Lincoln’s fiftieth year in 1971. From 1972 the name was permanent, with a vinyl roof over the rear half of the roof, coach lamps on the B-pillars and, from 1973, a two-door Town Coupe. When the Continental’s roofline changed for 1975 the Town Car took the Mark IV’s oval opera windows. The Continental Town Car became the most popular Lincoln of the 1970s.

For 1981 the Continental was renamed Town Car without mechanical or styling changes, becoming a model line of its own and eventually the flagship. The first generation sat on a box frame shared with the Ford LTD Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis, with double wishbone front suspension and a live rear axle, and a 4.9-litre Windsor V8 whose output rose from 130 to 160 hp by 1989. Bodywork was designed under Gale Halderman, and a 1985 facelift by Ed Golden and Victor Nacif tried to make the car look smaller without changing its size. Base, Signature Series and, from 1982, Cartier Edition models were offered. Cars were built at Wixom until 2007 and then at St. Thomas, Ontario, alongside the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis; the last Town Car was built on 29 August 2011, and from 2012 to 2019 the name was used for livery versions of the Lincoln MKT.

Design and features

• Body-on-frame construction: a separate chassis shared with the Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis.
• Longest American car: the longest mass-production car sold in North America from 1997 to 2011.
• Limousine favourite: most American stretch limousines were built on the Town Car.
• Three generations: thirty model years with only gradual change.

Lincoln Town Car versions

• Continental Town Car (1959–1960): 214 coachbuilt formal sedans and 83 limousines.
• Continental Town Car trim (1970–1980): the top trim of the Continental, with a Town Coupe from 1973.
• First generation (1981–1989): base, Signature Series and Cartier Edition.
• Second and third generations (1990–2011): the aero-styled cars, including long-wheelbase and livery versions.

The Town Car took over the name of the Lincoln Continental in 1981 and was later replaced in livery work by the Lincoln MKT. More Lincolns are in the Lincoln collection.

Sources

• Lincoln Town Car, English Wikipedia: history, name, generations, production
• Lincoln Town Car, German Wikipedia: dimensions, prices, first generation