U.S. Secret Service Vehicle 297-X
The single piece plexiglas roof afforded protection from the elements for the President and First Lady Jackie Kennedy during public events. It was made of the same material used for the nose gunner compartment on B-24 bombers in World War II. However, it was not bullet resistant. The Bubble Top converted into a formal limousine using black vinyl panels that were stored in the trunk. The panels were lost after the car left government service.
Built to order by Hess and Eisenhardt of Cincinnati
The Elwood Engel-designed and new-for-1961 Lincoln Continental’s stature and expression made it a natural fit with the Kennedy White House; a confident, expansive but also generation-shifting environment that combined homegrown American success with flair, style and sophistication.
Ford Motor Company had a long-established relationship with the White House fleet, making it natural for the Treasury Department’s Secret Service to turn to Ford to supply the automobiles that transported the President, his family and their official guests. Ford, in turn, relied upon Hess & Eisenhardt of Cincinnati to make the numerous changes that White House fleet service required.
Known by its Secret Service fleet number, 297-X, the new car was intended for more extensive use.
It proved to be so successful in both practical and aesthetic terms that a second car was requested by the Secret Service.
Over its years in the White House fleet, the Continental Bubbletop’s luxurious and spacious interior hosted an endless stream of dignitaries, diplomats and important guests. In addition to Jacqueline Kennedy, who favored this car among the many available to her, passengers included Pope Paul VI, Mrs. Lopez Mateos, the First Lady of Mexico, President Lyndon Johnson, Luci Baines Johnson, Vice Presidents Hubert Humphrey and Spiro Agnew, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and wife Imelda, and the Apollo astronauts and their wives.
As a result, this Continental Bubbletop remains without doubt one of the most important parade cars in America’s history.
It was in the White House fleet until 1970, after which it was donated by the Ford Motor Company to the Henry Ford Museum in 1972.
In 1985, 297-X was purchased by and displayed at the Imperial Palace Collection before entering a private collection, where it remained until early 2005, when it joined the John Quinn collection.
It has been meticulously and consistently maintained throughout its life, first by the U.S. Secret Service, to whom reliability and the comfort and security of passengers is paramount, and later by a succession of caring owners who recognized its unique historical significance. Its odometer shows only 15,276 miles at the time of writing, although it presumably covered many more than that in the belly of the U.S. Air Force cargo planes that carried it on many ceremonial trips abroad.
Info from http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?SaleCode=MO10&CarID=r170&fc=0 prompted by and article and full gallery in the Cars and Parts magazine, formerly Auto Enthusiast, August 2014 issue
compare this one piece to the panel assembly clear top on JFKs Lincoln:
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2019/05/1961-lincoln-continental-presidential.html
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