From 1952 to 1959 Lincoln manufactured the Capri with 4 door sedan, 2 door coupé and 2 door convertible bodies only the first generation was manufactured from 1952 to 1955 the second from 1956 to 1957 and the third and final generation from 1958 to 1959.

Powered by the all new 160hp 5.2 litre / 317 cui Lincoln Y-block that replaced the flat heads in all Lincoln’s in 1952 the Capri when tested by Popular Mechanics reached 60mph from rest in 14.8 seconds, covered the 1/4 mile in 21.3 seconds and recorded fuel consumption of 21 mpg at an average speed of 40mph.

To mark the Capri out from it’s competitors like the Cadillac 62 series, Chrysler New Yorker and Packard 400 teams of Lincolns were entered in the last three Carrera Panamericana races that saw them win the Tourismo Internacional class on each occasion with Chuck Stevenson and Clay Smith finishing 7th overall in 1952 and 1953 while Ray Crawford and Enrique Iglesias finished 9th overall to claim class honours in 1954.

With the strap line “Everything about Lincoln reflects good taste” the 1955 Capri was offered with a 225hp 5.6 litre / 341 cui Y-block atop which sat a 4 barrel carburetor.

There was no Carrera Panamericana for the more powerful Lincoln Capri to prove itself as a result of the 1955 disaster at Le Mans and so far as I know the model was never seen in contemporary competition again.

Today’s featured 1955 Lincoln Capri owned by Dick “El Flaco” de Luna was competition prepared by Dennis “El Gordo” Varni who fitted a modern 425hp 5 litre / 302 cui Ford V8 and all modern safety and handling equipment to the car which is now said to handle like a 4000 lb Porsche. The duo have competed on numerous resurrections of the Carrera Panamericana winning outright in 1999 alongside numerous class awards.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photograph’s taken at Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance in 2011.

Thanks for joining me on this “Reflecting Good Taste” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Ferrari that competed on the Carerra Panamericana in 1952 and 1953. Don’t forget to come back now !