Lincoln Continental 1964 Convertible

Few production cars let all four doors swing open with no center pillar in the way — Lincoln built one on purpose, then added a hidden safety interlock most owners never noticed. This powder blue 1964 Continental is one of just 3,328 four-door convertibles Lincoln built that year, vastly outnumbered by hardtop sedans. Under its long hood sits a 430 cubic inch V8 good for roughly 320 horsepower. Here’s what makes this body style so hard to find today.

We’re looking at a 1964 Lincoln Continental Convertible in Powder Blue paint. The car features suicide doors and a massive convertible top that fits, and fills the trunk…

Only one American production car in the 1960s let you open all four doors at once and watch the entire side of the car disappear — no center pillar, no seam, just one wide-open cabin. Lincoln built it on purpose, and it worried engineers enough that they added a hidden safety trick most owners never noticed. This powder blue example represents one of the rarest versions Lincoln built that year, a body style that was massively outsold by its hardtop sedan sibling. Most 1964 Continentals rolled off the line as four-door hardtops. This one didn’t. What exactly makes a car with doors that open backward this hard to find today?

⚑ Featured Gear

Start Car Conversations →

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Doors That Open the Wrong Way, On Purpose

The rear-hinged “suicide doors” on this Continental hinge at the C-pillar and swing open toward the rear, with no B-pillar dividing them from the front doors. Designer Elwood Engel introduced the look when the fourth-generation Continental launched in 1961, and it remained a Lincoln signature into the 1980s. With both sets of doors open, the entire side of the car is unobstructed — a dramatic effect, but one that worried Lincoln enough to build in a safety interlock preventing the rear doors from opening while the car was in motion with the front doors closed.

Power Under a Quiet Skin

For all its formal styling, the 1964 Continental wasn’t slow. It carried a 430 cubic inch V8 producing roughly 320 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque, routed through a three-speed Turbo-Drive automatic. For 1964, Lincoln also stretched the wheelbase three inches to 126 inches, improving rear-seat entry, legroom, and trunk space — refinements that mattered more to Continental buyers than raw performance ever did.

The Rarest Body Style Lincoln Built That Year

Total 1964 Continental production came to 36,297 units, and the overwhelming majority — 32,969 — were four-door hardtop sedans. Just 3,328 were four-door convertibles like this powder blue example, making the drop-top version roughly ten times scarcer than its closed-roof sibling. That production gap is exactly why convertible Continentals command a meaningful premium among collectors today.

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Republished by Blog Post Promoter