The 2,269 Lincoln Model KBs built in 1932 and 1933 are widely considered the finest Lincoln automobiles ever built. They were powered by the company’s first V-12, a massive 448 cu. in. mill with fork-and-blade connecting rods that was virtually hand-built to order and produced 150 horsepower with peerless smoothness. The Model KB was capable of a top speed of 120 mph, a speed comparable to such greats as the Duesenberg Model J and Marmon Sixteen—making this one of the great motor cars of the Classic Era.

Jack Dunning’s Model KB is a handsome seven-passenger sedan with factory coachwork featuring beautiful cloth upholstery on both the front and rear seats and no division window in between. It was acquired for his collection in the early 1980s from the widow of its longtime owner, who had disassembled the car for restoration but never completed the work. The project was brought to Mr. Dunning’s longtime restorer, Ed Cobb of Washington Court House, Ohio, who performed a body-on restoration of the car in this elegant and subtle two-tone color scheme. Even the trunk is a correct, very rare Beals & Selkirk unit, with four pieces of fitted luggage tucked within.

The restoration won its Primary First prize in Classic Car Club of America judging in 1985, eventually achieving Senior Premier status by 1995. Yet it was no mere showpiece; Mr. Dunning drove it on the Colonial Coast CARavan in 1985, and it received the Crosset Award as the finest automobile on its first CARavan.

Mr. Dunning comments of the car, “Edsel Ford’s influence is clearly seen in this car; he had a lot of class, and that is clearly reflected in the design of the ’33 Lincoln, where the body lines follow the curve of the running board. The interior is very elegant and very understated, same as the body. I think it is the best-looking sedan that Lincoln ever built, even better than the custom jobs.”

That should stand as the last word on this beautiful, well-maintained automobile, which awaits participation in its next CARavan with seven happy passengers tucked aboard.