College Cars: 1948 Lincoln Continental

This is College Cars, a recurring feature about the Academy of Art University car collection. Today we look at this Regal Blue 1948 Lincoln Continental coupe.

The Continental began as a pet project of Edsel Ford in 1938 as an exercise mimicking European - or "Continental" styling cues, namely the long hood and short rear deck, with limited body decoration and a low profile. Bob Gregorie produced a prototype based on the Lincoln Zephyr that featured a spare tire on the rear (now known as a 'Continental kit') and deleted the running boards. Between the fenders the engineering team dropped in a V12 engine with a 3-speed manual overdrive transmission. The result went into production for the 1940 model year. It was a hit with the rich and famous and the '48 Continental is one of the last cars recognized as a "True Classic" by the Classic Car Club of America.

Photographed at the 2011 San Francisco International Auto Show.