1941 Lincoln Zephyr

Lincoln was Ford’s luxury marque – it was common for most manufacturers of the time to indulge in badge engineering as a tool of marketing. Designed by the Dutch-born American stylist Jon Tjaarda, the Zephyr was launched in 1936 Model Year. It shows strong inspiration from aeronautical themes – understandable given Tjaarda’s training in aeronautical design in his formative years. Prior to the Zephyr, Tjaarda had worked on many futuristic designs for a streamlined automobile, but the Zephyr was the only one to make it into production. True to its name (Zephyr was the Greek God of Wind), the car bore a low coefficient of drag, and sleek, futuristic streamlining (especially in coupe form), as if styled by the wind. Variations on the heavily chromed, split ‘waterfall’ radiator grille became a strong feature in each generation, as did the ‘teardrop’ headlights in early models. Sealing its popularity was a powerful yet refined V12 engine, when most of the competition was offering an eight-cylinder motor. Pictured here is the honestly restored featured 1941 Coupe from Bangalore.