All these years, and we’ve never had a proper ’65 or ’66 LTD four door. I wrote my ’65 LTD CC “It Launched the Great Brougham Epoch” using a two door hardtop, which was really all wrong, as the semi-fastback coupe was hardly a proper brougham. And I can hardly ever remember seeing any of those coupes back then. The LTD was all about the four door, at least the first two years. In 1967, the LTD got its own unique roofline, although that was really just thanks to a fatter C pillar.
But here at last, we have a proper ’66 LTD four door, shot in front of the Capitol, no less, by Rui Meireles, a new Cohort poster.
There’s only two shots, including this one from the front. And I see the license plate leaves no doubt as to its identity.
It seems a bit retrograde comparing the ’66 LTD against a Jaguar Mk X for quietness, given that the ’65 was pitted against a Rolls-Royce.
And quieter than a Grosser 600, even. Gott im Himmel! These Amerikaner…what’s next? That their damn LTD handles better than our European cars?
Well, it most likely does than Lord Bath’s 7 passenger Daimler limo.
Enough of that. It seems Ford scoured the continent for cars to show up with its quietness.
Let’s wrap this quickie look at Ford’s Brougham for the People with a shot of one of the Lehmann-Petersen stretch sedans, which is unusual in being a hardtop.
As is apparent from this shot of a ’65, there’s a third side window that apparently rolls down too. I wonder if that sealed well and was as quiet as the factory sedan?
More on the original LTD: CC 1965 LTD – It Launched the Great Brougham Epoch PN
A ’66 with ’69 wheelcovers. Interesting, because in ’72 my dad bought a ’69 LTD that was wearing ’66 wheelcovers, lol.
My best friend’s family had a 1966 four-door hardtop. It was maroon with a white roof, and had the black “panty-cloth” interior. It was quite luxurious compared to our 1965 Chevrolet Bel Air wagon. Although it lacked the power windows and seats that made a car seem really luxurious at that time.
The Rob Walker in the first ad is the scion of the family that owned Johnnie Walker whiskey. He was quite the car enthusiast. He raced cars in his youth, and later owned racing teams.
The first picture in front of the Capitol really looks like the prototypical image I have of the LTD, no matter the year. It’s one of the best big car profiles in my eyes. The Brazilian big Fords, even though they always were pillared hardtops, in that particular angle look exactly the same.
Paul, just a simple note…the coachbuilder was Lehmann-Peterson, not Petersen.
The contemporaneous Bronco also wore ‘66 wheel covers (the big medallion hole made it possible for the front locking hub to pass through).
Seeing the LTD in front of the Capitol reminds me of all those Ford Mustangs Efrem Zimbalist Jr. drove around DC during the credits of “The FBI.” Product placement par excellence…
The Wikipedia entry on the Marquess of Bath says: “From 1960 onwards he amassed what would become the largest collection of paintings by Adolf Hitler, numbering sixty by 1983. To some extent an admirer of Hitler, the Marquess is quoted as saying ‘Hitler did a hell of a lot for his country.'”
Clearly a man of impeccable discernment!