Twin-grille 1937 Lincoln Zephyr

Lincoln-Zephyr V12

The Lincoln-Zephyr V12 made its first appearance in 1936; its impressive V12 engine contrasted sharply with its competitors, namely the LaSalle with its V8 and the Packard One-Twenty with its inline eight-cylinder engine.

Lincoln Motor Company is a division of Ford, established to give Ford a presence in the luxury vehicle market. The Lincoln V12 design was loosely based on the legendary Ford Flathead V8 that made its first appearance in 1932.

While the Ford V8 had a 90° V-angle, the Lincoln-Zephyr H Series V12 had a slightly narrower V-angle of 75°. The block valve design suffered from some of the same problems as the Flathead V8, mainly with overheating due to the exhaust ducts through the block. The Flathead V12 had some advantages, however, it was relatively simple to manufacture and quite reliable, plus it was quite short, allowing for a low hood line and improved aerodynamics.

The first generation H-Series V12 engine had a capacity of 267 cubic inches (4.4 liters) with 110 hp at 3900 rpm and an impressive 180 lbf.ft of torque from 400 rpm to 3500 rpm. Hydraulic lifters were added in 1938 and in 1940 the larger 4.8 liter (292 cubic inch) engine made its debut. 1942 would see the introduction of the 306 cubic inch engine, however, production would stop during the war and would not begin again until 1946.

From a design perspective, the Lincoln-Zephyr V12 was quite advanced for its time; it was designed by Eugene Turenne Gregorie following initial instructions from Edsel Ford. Although Gregorie dropped out of high school, he went on to become head of Ford's automotive design department.

Eugene Turenne Gregorie had begun his working life at the Elco Works shipyard in New Jersey, and later worked at Cox & Stevens, a yacht design firm in New York. This early grounding in boat design came in handy for automobile design; his first major automobile design was the 1936 Lincoln-Zephyr, which would later be named "the first successful aerodynamic automobile in America" by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. .

Under the skin, the engineering was developed by John Tjaarda, who specified a strong unibody structure, combined with the Gregorie-designed body, the Lincoln-Zephyr V12 has an impressive 0.45 coefficient of aerodynamic drag.

The Lincoln-Zephyr V12 "Twin-Grille" History

It seems that the motivation that prompted Willard L. Morrison of Lake Forest, Illinois, to create the Lincoln-Zephyr V12 "Twin Grille" is forever lost to history; however, there are quite a few educated guesses.

The most likely explanation is the most obvious: the twin grilles were developed to double the cooling capacity and eliminate the problems suffered by the often too-hot V12.

There is quite a bit of evidence to support this theory first proposed by Matt Klingler. First, the two grilles are not just decorative: the radiator was overflowed to run behind both grilles and combined with a radiator overflow tank.

The other reason for the two-grille arrangement was stated in the original 1936 patent application filed by Willard L. Morrison, who explained that the space between the two grilles improved forward visibility, particularly for "small persons and women."

The most obvious solution to this problem would have been to lower the front of the car, similar to the Chrysler Airflow, but this would have reduced cooling potential, which could have been catastrophic for the V12.

The car you see here is the only one like it in the world; it was designed by Willard L. Morrison to showcase his design, which perhaps unsurprisingly never succeeded. For reasons lost to history, it also has a ½ inch thick steel safe in the trunk, perhaps to keep patent paperwork safe.

Source:

• 1936 Lincoln-Zephyr V12 “Twin-Grille”
  https://silodrome.com/lincoln-zephyr-v12-twin-grille/
  
• Twin-grille 1937 Lincoln Zephyr Gets Second Shot at Auction Notoriety
  https://www.hemmings.com/stories/twin-grille-1936-lincoln-zephyr/