1948 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet

Lot details
Registration No: VSJ 110
Chassis No: 7H157218
Mot Expiry: Exempt

- Running and driving

- 12 cylinder, 4998cc flat head engine, hydraulic hood and windows

- Bare metal repaint at a cost of circa £20k

The post-War Lincoln Continental was an ultra-exclusive, hand-made car aimed at the wealthy American upper classes. A design icon - it was chosen by New York's Museum of Modern Art as an automotive artwork - the car was the brainchild of Edsel Ford and appealed to many Hollywood celebrities. Indeed, the list price of $4,746 - more than two and a half times the cost of that year's Ford V-8 Convertible - put off all but the very rich, and the car was made in very limited numbers. Post-WW2 Lincolns were the only such American cars powered by a V-12 engine, and the Continental's 4998cc (305 CID) flathead engine with single twin-barrel carburettor produced a healthy 130bhp at 3,600 rpm coupled to a 3-speed manual column-shift gearbox. I-beam front suspension and a live rear axle with leaf springs, plus four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes gave a reassuring ride. With hydraulic hood and windows, push-button door handles, rear spats and distinctive outside rear spare wheel cover in steel, the car was the height of luxury.

This particular Continental from the Ian Grange Collection was imported into the UK in 1999 and we have been informed that it previously spent a long time in a private Swiss collection. The history file displays invoices showing the body was stripped to bare metal in 2011 and repainted in metallic burgundy from a rust-free base at a cost of £19,200. The interior is lined in black leather piped in red with a transparent steering wheel in maroon and a black-lined hood. UK registered with the number 'VSJ 110' the car shows 49,231 miles and records indicate the MOT expired in 2008 although the car runs and drives. We believe this is the only Lincoln Continental 12-cylinder convertible for sale in the UK, and as such demands the attention of collectors.


A little bit about the late Ian Grange :

Not the tallest man in the world, Ian Grange was nonetheless a very much larger than life character. Born in Stockport, severe dyslexia saw him leave school at fifteen with no qualifications. After doing his National Service, Ian went into the Manchester motor trade. A school of hard knocks that could literally have the shirt off your back (as he found out when purchasing a Jaguar E-Type from Harold O'Connor), the budding entrepreneur learnt to wheel and deal with the best of them setting-up Red Lion Autos in Cheadle before specialising in classic cars and relocating to Chorlton.

A serial nightclub owner as well as a car dealer whose clientele included 'everyone from dustbinmen to lords', Ian traded on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Resident in Florida for several years, he could turn a profit on machinery that made more conservative rivals blanch! Never afraid to sit on his stock 'while it increased in value', he professed there was 'a bum for every seat' and sold a fabulous array of classics including a Mercedes-Benz SSK, Lamborghini Miura, Ferrari 275 GTB, AC 428 Convertible, countless coachbuilt Rolls-Royces and Bentleys not to mention numerous outlandish American cars.

A classic car dealer for almost sixty years, Ian was a familiar face at auctions up and down the country. Happy to be bound by one of his irrevocable handshakes and a stickler for punctuality, he remained active up until his death last year. Thankfully, his daughter Samantha Grange-Bailey is picking up where her father left off and will reinvest the proceeds of the collection in further stock