1949 was the debut of Lincoln’s first new post-war bodies, and the “senior” top-rung model was the Lincoln Cosmopolitan. A departure from the styling of the previous generation, this model featured no running boards, fenders and doors running together, and recessed headlights and taillights, in a move that became known as “pontoon” styling. The first generation ran from 1949-1951, so this car is from the final year of first-gen production. It’s not perfect, but there are many good things about it. It’s currently part of an estate sale in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is listed here on eBay, with 57 bids at the time of writing at $15,625.

According to a brief online search, only 857 Cosmopolitan Convertibles were produced for the 1951 model year, which means that this is a fairly uncommon vehicle. It’s certainly an attractive car. As the story goes, the car was driven for approximately 98,812 miles before being parked in a barn in 1976. In 2017 the family decided to get it running again, and did some repairs and maintenance. Before too much work was done, health issues sidelined the project, and it wasn’t until a couple weeks ago that it was started up again in order to sell.

The body looks great from a distance, but the seller tells us there is rust in the rocker panels, although the body and floor are solid. That’s pretty good news actually, with a convertible. The paint looks glossy in the photos, and even the convertible top fabric appears to be undamaged save for one small tear at the base. All the chrome trim is present, and even though the bumpers look a bit tarnished I’m sure a quick polish would bring them back around. It even appears the exterior lighting works correctly, with some photos showing the lights illuminated.

The interior is in need of attention. The seller says they hosed off the car so we can see the condition of the body, but it doesn’t look like anything has been done inside the car. A quick cleaning would probably make a big difference. Even so, most of the soft surfaces like seat covers, carpet, and rear arm rests will eventually need to be replaced, unless the next owner wants to keep this Lincoln 100% original.  At least they’re not terrible, and wont prevent the car from being driven.

This Lincoln is powered by a 337 cubic-inch Ford Flathead V8, and was the first Lincoln powered by a V8 engine since 1932. It’s paired to the Hydramatic transmission provided by GM, and reportedly is good for 154 hp. It currently runs and drives, but we aren’t told how well, or what overall shape the engine is in. It’s just shy of 100k, which was a much higher tally for a car 70 years ago than it is today. Still, this Cosmopolitan appears to really only need minor cosmetic work, and should be a fun car for its next owner.