1940 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe, 72A 🇺🇸

The Lincoln Zephyr was into its 5th model year of production in 1940. In 1939, the Zephyr found 21,000 buyers, a respectable number, but still less than the sales Lincoln had hoped to achieve. This was the situation with the Zephyr from its introduction in 1936, the car was successful but never as successful as hoped.

In 1940, the car got a redesigned body shell. This change was in large part because Lincoln introduced the Continental in 1940 which in this model year was an upscale Zephyr. The top of the line K-series was dropped for the model year. The Continental would eventually replace the K series cars at the top of the model lineup.  But, in its debut year, it was nothing more than a top of the line Zephyr. The two cars, Zephyr and Continental, were manufactured using a shared platform and they needed to have a family resemblance without looking alike.

The Zephyr's new look included more than 20% more glass to improve outward visibility, vent windows were added, running boards would disappear completely under the doors, tail lights were moved from the fenders to the body, and the car made use of the new sealed-beam headlight technology. Inside, the Zephyr speedometer and instruments were moved directly in front of the driver, as opposed to the central location of previous years. Also, the gear shift moved from the dashboard  to the steering column. Under the hood the engine displacement was increased and provided more power.

The body styles offered also changed, going from 5 in 1939 to 7 in 1940, not including the two Continental body styles.  Pricing of the Zephyr maintained the car ‘s position in the near luxury category, compatible with LaSalle and Packard 120.  Sales of the newly designed cars only increased marginally over 1939.