1942 Lincoln Zephyr Limousine

Formerly used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt

And President Harry S. Truman

Weighing a stout 7,000 pounds, this imposing limousine was the first presidential vehicle to be delivered new with full protective armoring. Steel plates line the doors, roof, and underside of the car while seven-ply glass is used for all windows. The inside of the engine compartment is lined with heavy wire mesh to stop bullets while allowing cooling air to penetrate. To accommodate the bulky armoring, virtually every panel was reworked by hand to give the car a normal appearance so as not to attract the attention of would-be wrong doers.

The FBI took delivery of the limousine in March 1942 and Franklin D. Roosevelt used it frequently in and around Washington DC. It was also shipped overseas and served as his ground transportation during his historic conference with Stalin and Churchill at Yalta in February 1945. Upon Roosevelt’s death, the Lincoln was used by Harry S. Truman then returned to Lincoln to be retrofitted with the front clip of a 1946 model to give it a modern appearance. Truman used the limousine until a fleet of then new Lincoln Cosmopolitans was ready. The imposing vehicle was decommissioned by the Secret Service on December 9, 1948 and came into private hands in 1962 at which time it was placed in a Colorado museum where it was carefully restored.