Five White House vehicles share one gallery at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. Four of them are each a presidential Lincoln limousine from a different era. The fifth is older still, because Theodore Roosevelt’s horse-drawn brougham opens the row. Together they span every president from Roosevelt to George H.W. Bush.
The Henry Ford says the exhibit traces how a president’s need to be seen has traded off against the need to stay safe. In fact, you can watch that balance shift from one car to the next. Here are the five, in order, with details from the museum’s own records.
1. 1902 Theodore Roosevelt Brougham
Unlike the others, the oldest vehicle in the gallery has no engine at all. The Henry Ford attributes the brougham to an unknown English carriage maker and dates it to 1902. At first, it served as official transport for President Theodore Roosevelt. The black carriage with blue accents measures 128 inches long, according to the museum’s collection record.
Automobiles began replacing carriages during the Taft administration. Even so, the White House housekeeping department kept the brougham for errands. It finally retired in 1928, when the White House acquired a Ford Model A for that job, the brougham record says.
2. 1939 Lincoln K-Series Presidential Limousine, the “Sunshine Special”
The Henry Ford calls Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Lincoln “the first car built expressly for presidential use.” Lincoln delivered the chassis in November 1939 at a cost of $8,348.74. Brunn & Company then added $4,950 in modifications, according to the museum’s history of the car. Meanwhile, power came from a 150-horsepower, 414-cubic-inch V-12.
After Pearl Harbor, the car gained armor plating and nine-ply glass more than an inch thick. Today it weighs over 9,300 pounds, the museum says. It later served Harry S. Truman for five more years after Roosevelt’s death. A member of the White House press corps gave it its nickname. That may have come from Roosevelt’s love of riding with the top down. In 1950, it went back to Lincoln and on to the museum.
3. 1950 Lincoln Presidential Limousine, the “Bubbletop”
Lincoln built this car for Truman, with a body by Raymond Dietrich. However, Dwight D. Eisenhower used it most. In 1954, the car gained a weatherproof plexiglass roof, according to the museum’s post on its presidential Lincolns. The car also had riding steps on the rear bumper and flashing red lights.
The car traveled, too. In March 1957, crews loaded it onto the USS Taconic at Norfolk for Eisenhower’s trip to Bermuda, a museum photo record shows. There, he met British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Later, Kennedy and Johnson kept it as a spare until 1967, according to the exhibit page.
4. 1961 Lincoln Continental Presidential Limousine
Hess & Eisenhardt of Cincinnati turned a four-door Lincoln Continental convertible into this car. First, the firm stretched it 3½ feet. It then added steps and handholds for Secret Service agents. Removable roof sections and a hydraulic rear seat that lifted the president came next. The White House took delivery in mid-June 1961, according to the museum’s history of the car.
This is the car President John F. Kennedy rode in when he was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Afterward, it returned to service with a permanent roof, titanium armor and bullet-resistant glass five layers thick. It also wore black paint. Johnson and Nixon used it as their main parade car, while Ford and Carter kept it as a backup. The car retired in 1977, and Ford Motor Company donated it to the museum in 1978.
5. 1972 Lincoln Continental Presidential Limousine
The Henry Ford describes this car as the first presidential parade car designed and built as an armored vehicle from the start. Lincoln built it at the Wixom plant, then Ford’s Special Vehicles Engineering Department customized it. Five presidents used it: Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and George H.W. Bush, according to its collection record.
On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan survived an attempt on his life while getting into this car. The limousine then carried him to the hospital. In 1982, crews updated its front sheet metal with a 1979 grille fitted to the original body. Today this 259-inch, 10,440-pound presidential Lincoln limousine sits in the exhibit as object 92.104.1.
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This article was created with the help of AI and was reviewed and edited by Fast Lane Only editors before publication.
