Howard Hughes' custom Lincoln sold
A custom Lincoln convertible once owned by the eccentric movie mogul, pilot, and aircraft manufacturer Howard Hughes was sold at auction in Tulsa last week for $1 million.
Hughes had his aircraft company convert the 1936 Model K V-12 from a fixed-roof limousine to a two-seat roadster reminiscent of the factory "Boat Tail Speedster." But his car's rear end is covered in riveted, polished sheet metal and tapers off into an aircraft-like cone. Hughes reportedly lightened the Lincoln and modified its engine and exhaust, possibly for use as a high-speed camera car to shoot scenes for his aviation films, according to the car's former co-owner, Bill Smith.
The car was discovered during an estate sale in 2005 — along with the billionaire's credit card — and has since been on display at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, which also has Hughes' famous giant sea plane, the "Spruce Goose."
The Hughes Lincoln was the largest sale in the more than 30-year history of the Leake Auction Company.
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about boston overdrive
Boston.com reports the latest trends, auto shows and wrings out the newest cars in our city's hellish maze - and across the great roads of New England.In the garage: 2008 MBTA Zone 1A monthly pass, 1995 21-speed Iron Horse. Bill Griffith is an automotive correspondent for The Boston Globe and has reviewed cars for 10 years. He was also the Globe's assistant sports editor for 25 years and the paper's sports media columnist.
In the garage (over the years): 1956 T-Bird, 1959 Nash Metropolitan, 1980 El Camino, 1997 supercharged Camry TRD.
