'61 Lincoln X-100

[ToyLvr]

It was a sleek and glamorous new body style when delivered for duty as the Presidential Limo in '61, and it fit the style of the new President

If only they had left the roof in place that morning in Dallas, 50 years ago....

R.I.P. JFK

(For many years, it was a project in my mind to build a replica of the X-100. I searched for years to find a couple of decent & affordable '61 Lincoln models, and even traveled to the Henry Ford museum to view the real car and take photos & notes. Then "Yat Ming" came out with their Presidential series in diecast and I kinda lost my momentum in the project; bought the diecast)

[gtx6970]

I've been thinking about one of these . Is this as produced?

[ToyLvr]

I've been thinking about one of these . Is this as produced?

Bill:

What you see in the photos is how the model is straight out of the box.

It features opening hood/trunk/doors, operable "jump" seats, and a nicely detailed engine. Paint job leaves a bit to be desired on my example, but overall the model presents well.

[Art Anderson]

In addition, Yat Ming also produced two predecessors of X-100: The 1950 Lincoln stretched Presidential convertible limousine, complete with its clear plastic "bubble top" (the car used by Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, and the first presidential limousine ridden in by Kennedy when he accompanied Eisenhower to his inauguration on January 20, 1961. The other presidential car produced by Yat Ming (also in 1/24 scale) was the 1956 Cadillac stretched convertible limousine, which had its body sides between the A and C posts narrowed in to provide room for Secret Service agents to ride on slide-out platform "steps". This latter car is the one which followed Kennedy's car in Dallas on 11/22.63, carrying Secret Service agents.

Art

[Chuck Most]

Nice!

As you probably know (since you saw the 1:1 on display) the car was retrofitted after the assassination with a fixed bullet-resistant roof. No more open-air motoring for this car after that day in Dallas.

[PaulK]

Yat Ming made 9 cars in the Presidential Series, all 1/24th Scale. The Presidential Secret Service asked YAT MING to do the series.

YM24028 - 1938 Cadillac.(Roosevelt).

YM24088 - 1939 Lincoln Sunshine Special.

YM24058 - 1950 Lincoln (Truman).

YM24038 - 1956 Cadillac.

YM24048 - 1961 Lincoln X100. (Kennedy).(Only Car Not Painted Black-Was Painted Blue)

YM24078 - 1961 Lincoln X100 Quick Fix.

YM24068 - 1972 Lincoln (Ford/Reagan).

YM24098 - 1983 Cadillac.

YM24018 - 2001 Cadillac (Bush)

Edited November 24, 2013 by PaulK

[Chuck Most]

Yat Ming made 9 cars in the Presidential Series, all 1/24th Scale. The Presidential Secret Service asked YAT MING to do the series.

YM24048 - 1961 Lincoln X100. (Kennedy).(Only Car Not Painted Black-Was Painted Blue)

A bit of useless trivia about that- after being refitted (the Quick Fix guise which exists today), the the car was painted black at the behest of LBJ. He felt that people would associate the original metallic blue color with the assassination.

[Dave Toups]

Considering how much money our government spends, I've always wondered why they kept and retrofitted the car JFK was killed in instead of crushing it and building a new one? It seems we haven't had that many new presidential limos over the years.

[ToyLvr]

Considering how much money our government spends, I've always wondered why they kept and retrofitted the car JFK was killed in instead of crushing it and building a new one? It seems we haven't had that many new presidential limos over the years.

Dave:

According to the book "Presidents on Wheels" (by Herbert R. Collins), the X-100 was owned by the Ford Motor Company. Ford leased it to the U.S. government for a token $500.00 per year (just think of the advertising value for Ford to have our President riding around in a Lincoln).

LBJ was well known for being very "thrifty". I read in one of his biographies that he would wander around the White House at night switching off all the lights as he went, much to the annoyance of the staff and Secret Service. One of his first moves after assuming office was to drastically reduce the number of Limos in the government fleet. Thus I think that retaining and rebuilding the X-100 was very much in keeping with LBJ's personality, especially since Henry Ford II was footing the bill!

When you think about it, the Presidential vehicles don't accumulate a whole lot of miles, as they're primarily used for "parade" situations and an occasional ride to speaking engagements around DC. Yes, they do take the Presidential Limo (and a back-up) on the road for Presidential trips, but it still doesn't usually get driven very far; the President travels by helicopter and Air Force One most of the time, thus the Limo doesn't get "worn out" very fast. They last for years and years. The X-100 remained in use as a back-up through the Jimmy Carter years.

These days, the Presidential Limo is a rolling fortress, heavily armored and loaded with communication equipment and anti-terrorist devices. All of this equipment is so secret, the Government destroys it after it is taken out of service. We'll likely never see another one in a museum.