In 1949, Lincoln welcomed a new flagship model, the Cosmopolitan, but its stay at the top of the line was short-lived.

In previous episodes here at Mac’s Motor City Garage, we looked at the 1949-51 baby Lincolns (see our feature here) and at the Ford Motor Company’s single entry in the fastback streamliner fad, the one-year-only 1949 Lincoln Town Sedan (story here). But in the meanwhile we glossed over the main event in the Lincoln lineup in ’49, the division’s new flagship with a ritzy name, Cosmopolitan. You knew we might get around to it eventually.

Introduced on April 22, 1948, the Cosmopolitan was a refinement of a design Ford chief stylist E.T. “Bob” Gregorie had been working on since 1943. Originally it was to have hidden headlamps, but the production car received an unusual sunken-lamp design. At one point there were plans to include a uniquely styled Continental and a limousine, but Ernest K. Breech, Henry Ford II’s second-in-command, scotched that notion and simplified the model line. In the end, four body styles were offered: a two-door coupe, a conventional four-door Sport Sedan, the previously covered fastback Town Sedan, and a Convertible Coupe.

An all-new chassis for ’49 replaced the antiquated 1936-48 Zephyr beam-axle, buggy-spring platform.  A seriously robust X-braced ladder frame accommodated independent coil spring suspension at the front, an open driveline, and parallel leaf springs at the rear. The sometimes troublesome Zephyr V12 was gone now, too, replaced by a 337 cubic-inch L-head V8 with 152 horsepower. The big V8 had actually been introduced the year before on the Ford Motor Company’s heavy-duty trucks.

The Hydra-Matic transmission, supplied by General Motors, of course, was a popular extra-cost option, though the GM name was nowhere to be seen in Lincoln’s marketing materials. The stout chassis, cast-iron automatic gearbox, and oversized flathead V8 no doubt contributed to the Cosmopolitan’s considerable curb weight of 4,500 lbs.

While their styling was similar, the Cosmopolitan (Model 9EH) was considerably larger than the Mercury-based baby Lincoln (Model 9EL) with a four-inch longer wheelbase of 125 inches. At 220.6 inches overall, the Cosmo was actually six inches longer than a 61/62 Series Cadillac. The Cosmopolitan also featured thinner roof pillars and a lighter-looking greenhouse than the junior Lincoln, but the easiest way to tell the two apart is the Cosmopolitan’s thick band of stainless-steel trim over each front wheel opening.

The Cosmopolitan’s cabin was as luxurious as you would expect, with fine wool broadcloth or Bedford cord fabrics for the closed body styles and leather for the convertible. Electro-hydraulic power windows and front seat, extra-cost options on most Cadillacs, were standard equipment on the Cosmo. Prices ranged from $3,186 for the coupe to $3,948 for the convertible, hundreds more than a standard Cadillac, too.

As the senior model in the Lincoln lineup from 1949 to 1951, the Cosmopolitan sold reasonably well, especially compared to the outdated ’48 Lincoln. But meanwhile, the smaller, less expensive baby Lincolns ($2500-$3000) outsold the Cosmopolitan by a comfortable margin. Surely that must have aided the decision to move the Lincoln brand downmarket in 1952 toward the Buick-Oldsmobile class. The Cosmopolitan would continue in ’52, but now it was the junior model as a new name, Capri, became the top-of-the-line Lincoln.