The John B. Judkins Company, of Merrimac, Massachusetts, was the archetypal New England coachbuilder. Its bodies were well-designed and elegant, with a decided streak of Yankee conservatism, but they had just enough flash and dash to catch the eye, and they also had a quality of build that was second to none. It was this combination of tasteful beauty and solid construction that made the firm a favorite of American luxury car manufacturers, who, from the 1920s through the 1930s, would regularly turn to Judkins for closed coachwork on such models as sedans, berlines, limousines, and coupes.

Lincoln’s 1932 Model KB would eventually come to represent their final offering of the Classic Era, with a massive fork-and-blade V-12 that was largely hand-built, and which provided ample power and cosseting smoothness of operation. It wouldn’t be right to describe such an elegant carriage as “a hot rod Lincoln,” but it was known in the 1930s that the wealthy gentleman or lady who preferred to drive themselves, and who preferred to do so at a very high rate of speed, often chose a KB. A Judkins body on this chassis created a Classic Era “sleeper” of sorts; a car that would not provoke unkind words from the fellow members of one’s country club, but also one that could become an enjoyable public nuisance on the open roads back to the city.

The Berline offered here is a factory-catalogued Judkins style, offered with either two or three windows per side; this car is the “two-window” style, which has closed rear quarters for a formal, limousine-like rear compartment. One of only 17 made in 1932, it was beautifully restored to concours condition some years ago for the late Roy Warshawsky, the president of J.C. Whitney. Mr. Warshawsky was a great Lincoln enthusiast, known for his taste in selecting the finest custom-bodied examples and having them authentically restored to the highest of standards. In the case of this car, the restoration was guided by Tom Powels, of California, a greatly respected Lincoln technician.

Mr. Warshawsky displayed the restored Lincoln at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 1989, winning First in Class. It has since returned to Monterey no fewer than three times, in 1998, 2001, and 2010, and in its last showing, over 20 years since its restoration, it secured Third in Class and the Lincoln Trophy, presented to the most significant Lincoln present. That is a testament to the quality of the restoration and the loving care that it has received over passing years. Remaining in no less outstanding condition today, it is presented here in its birthplace of Michigan, as one of the great American automobiles; it was one that was owned by and restored with the input of men who knew their subject.