Lot No. 416, scheduled to be auctioned on Aug. 19 at the Quail Lodge in California, was known for shuttling passengers closely associated with the heavens.
The 1964 Lincoln Continental parade limousine was ordered by the Vatican in 1965 for Pope Paul VI’s visit to New York that year and was used later in the decade to carry several Apollo astronauts on ticker-tape parades through Chicago.
The lines on the 1964 Continental were penned by Elwood Engel and first appeared on the 1961 model-year vehicle. The design originally was intended for the Ford Thunderbird, but was enlarged and modified for Lincoln at the behest of Robert McNamara, the president of Ford Motor Company at the time.
When the papal order came in 1965, the Lincoln’s unibody construction made stretching the car to limousine proportions a difficult task. Lehman-Peterson, a coachbuilding firm based in Chicago, won the right to produce Continental stretch limousines only after an extensive testing period.
According to Bonhams, Lehman-Peterson produced the pope’s Continental in under two weeks. The car was stretched to just under 21 feet and the rear section of its roof was made fully removable, with a second windscreen and transparent shell added to shield the pontiff from the elements. The limousine also was given a public address system, special lighting and additional seating.
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