By the mid-1920s, Lincoln had established itself as a leading American luxury marque, offering its clientele exceptional engineering paired with an increasingly diverse array of custom coachwork. Under Edsel Ford’s guidance, Lincoln collaborated with top-tier coachbuilders – among them Locke & Company of New York, known for its expertise in open-body styles and association with stylists like John Tjaarda and W. Everett Miller. Among Locke’s most elegant creations was the four-passenger Sport Phaeton, design 163A - an exceptionally handsome, low-slung body mounted on the durable Model L chassis. Just 266 examples were delivered in 1928, its most successful production year.

This Locke Sport Phaeton boasts a remarkable provenance. Originally loaned by the Ford Motor Company to the White House for use by President Calvin Coolidge during his summer retreat in northern Wisconsin, it was later sold to its first private owner, Minneapolis resident Donald Weesner. Mr. Weesner, a pioneering car collector, preserved the Lincoln for decades. In 1957, he displayed it at the Minneapolis Aquatennial, where it drew the admiration of television host Ed Sullivan. Acquired by avid Lincoln enthusiast Stan Lucas at the Christie’s sale of the Weesner Collection in 1999, this remarkable Model L Sport Phaeton still retains its original two-tone paint and showed just over 70,000 miles at the time of cataloguing. With known history from new, this superbly preserved, custom-bodied Lincoln is a rare, unrestored prize for discerning collectors of American classics.