1940 Lincoln Brunn Town Car

As the Fords' only child, Edsel was groomed to take over the family business, and had grown up tinkering on cars with his father. He became secretary of Ford in 1915 and married Eleanor Clay, niece of department store owner J L Hudson. The younger Ford showed more interest than his father in flashier styling. He indulged this proclivity in part with the purchase of the Lincoln Motor Company in 1922. His affinity for sporty cars was demonstrated in his personal vehicles: Edsel bought the first MG motorcar imported to the United States. In 1932 he had a V-8 boat-tailed speedster custom-designed for him, and two years later had another car designed, this one a low-riding aluminum-bodied speedster. The latter two cars he kept for the remainder of his life and inspired the design of the Lincoln Continental.

After becoming president of Ford, Edsel long advocated the introduction of a more modern automobile to replace the Model T, but was repeatedly overruled by his father. Flagging sales and dwindling market share for the company, however, finally made introduction of a new model inevitable.During the design phase for the Model A, Henry Ford assured mechanical quality and reliability, leaving it to his son to flesh out the body design. This the younger Ford accomplished with the help of designer Jozsef Galamb. Edsel also prevailed upon his father to allow the inclusion of four-wheel mechanical brakes and a sliding-gear transmission on this model. The resulting Model A was a commercial success, selling over four million during four years of production.

As president, Edsel Ford was often at loggerheads with his father on major decisions, but he nevertheless managed to accomplish several lasting changes. Edsel Ford founded and named the Mercury division, and significantly strengthened Ford Motors' overseas production. He was also responsible for the Lincoln Zephyr and Continental. It is only fitting then that he had Brunn build this town car on the Zephyr Chassis for his personal use. Up to 9 others were built usually on direct order from Edsel Ford for prominent friends and socialites. Mrs Edsel Ford loved the car and used it until 1952, sending it back in 1947 to be refitted with the more modern Post War Front and rear end. Mr Brunn was brought in to personally oversee the project, which took 6 weeks.

This car is in excellent original condition, runs and drives without fault, and comes with a wealth of documentation, inlcuding copies of the build order, original title, letters from Hermann Brunn about the car and its subsequent updates. This is an important piece of Ford History, and represents a rare opportunity for the Museum or private collector to acquire a competely original car with unmtched provenance and documentation.