Concept Car of the Week: Lincoln Indianapolis Boano Coupé (1955)

There is always a plethora of wonderful cars on display during the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and also some not so wonderful, like the Spyker B6 Venator and Laraki Epitome. This year, one of the cars stood out with its bright orange color and unusual styling – the Lincoln Indianapolis Boano Coupé.

In 1953, after nine years spent leading the famous Carrozzeria Ghia, Felice Mario Boano left to focus on his own enterprise: Carrozzeria Boano. Felice's acquaintances within Ford continuously supported him by giving him projects and in 1955, Henry Ford II took control of the company. Eager to steer the company into a bold new era, Ford supplied Boano with a 1955 Lincoln chassis for a new project. Felice would hand it over to his son, Gian Paolo, who had sharpened his skills working alongside his father as an apprentice at Ghia.

What he did with the Lincoln chassis is a blend of clean and perfectly controlled Italian volumes ornamented with aviation-inspired, American chrome details. The result is a unique design that stands out even when compared to other coachbuilt creations of that era.

While the original Lincoln had a huge chrome bumper, the Indianapolis features only a thick bar, which curves downwards like a moustache around the only air intake at the front of the vehicle.

The headlamps are stacked with two on each side and are framed by a chrome insert that helps shape the extruded fenders. At the back of these, three chromed exhaust pipes stick out horizontally and are echoed by the rear air intakes. It does make you wonder why exhaust gases would actually need to flow into the rear air intakes, but the truth is they are both non-functional.

Wraparound screens at the front and back created a very airy cabin while the reversed A-pillars announced the forthcoming trend for American cars. The roof is visually supported by a thick but very elegant B-pillar.

The tail is very similar to the front, with the round rear lamps stacked with the round exhausts, which are this time fully functional. The cut arches partially cover the wheels, which are finished with gorgeous white-wall tires.

First seen at the 1955 Turin Motor show, it was passed from hand-to-hand until it was badly damaged in a fire. After an intense two-year restoration in the early 2000s, the Indianapolis reappeared better than ever at Pebble Beach in 2001, where it won Postwar Custom Coachwork class. It was sold at the Concours d'Elegance five years later for a cool $1.375m.

Designer Gian Paolo Boano
First seen Turin motor show 1955
Engine Lincoln V8 – 200bhp

Your author, Flavien Dachet, is a UK-based, French-born car designer. You may know him as the purveyor of KarzNshit, a photo blog that if isn't already in your bookmarks, certainly should be.

By Flavien Dachet