The Lincoln Cosmopolitan is a full-size luxury car that was sold by Lincoln from the 1949 through the 1954 model year. All Lincolns were manufactured at Lincoln Assembly, Dearborn, Michigan, while some were sent in "knock-down kits" to regional factories at Maywood Assembly, Maywood, California, Edison Assembly, Edison, New Jersey, or St. Louis Assembly, St.Louis, Missouri, and assembled locally.
In 1949, Lincoln introduced its first postwar bodies, also marking the first product lines of the combined Lincoln-Mercury Division. Although sharing many body panels with the Mercury Eight and the standard Lincoln, the 1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan was marketed as the flagship of the Lincoln line; the model was distinguished by its own rear roofline.
In a departure from previous Lincoln vehicles, the bodywork featured no running boards, with the fenders and doors enclosed together; the Lincolns featured headlights and taillights recessed ("frenched") into the bodywork. At the time, the styling was referred to as a pontoon design. Using a feature that would later appear in the later Lincoln Continental sedan, all Lincoln-Mercury four-door sedans featured rear-hinged suicide doors. Alongside the four-door, the Cosmopolitan was sold as a two-door (in standard and Capri trim) and two-door convertible. There was also a four-door fastback sedan body style (marketed as the Cosmopolitan Town Sedan), but fastbacks rapidly went out of style after WWII and after only 7302 Town Sedans were ordered, the model did not return for 1950. Although Lincoln moved 73,507 total cars for the 1949 model year, 1950 production totaled only 28,150, a nearly 60% drop.
Sharing its engine with the Ford heavy truck line, the Lincoln and the Lincoln Cosmopolitan were powered by a 337 cubic-inch Ford Flathead V8, becoming the first Lincoln powered by a V8 engine. Ford did not have a full automatic transmission yet, although an experimental automatic known as Liquamatic had been tested in 1941. An attempt to purchase Packard's Ultramatic transmission was unsuccessful as Packard could not supply the transmissions in sufficient quantities, so Ford instead purchased GM Hydramatics. Although Ford and Mercury would gain automatics for 1951, Lincoln continued using the Hydramatic until 1955. The 1951 model year saw the last Lincolns with manual transmissions until the 2000 Lincoln LS. For the suspension, the chassis was given front coil springs.
In 1951, on all versions of the Cosmopolitan, Lincoln added power windows and seats as standard equipment.
Alongside the Mercury Eight, the 1949-51 Lincoln Cosmopolitan would gain popularity among customizers creating "lead sleds".
For 1952, the Lincoln-Mercury model line saw a redesign. The Lincoln Cosmopolitan took the place of the standard Lincoln, with the Lincoln Capri becoming the new Lincoln flagship line. Again sharing its body with Mercury (now the Mercury Monterey), the rear body introduced pontoon rear fenders, with the adoption of larger headlamps and taillamps. In a major change, four-door Lincoln-Mercury vehicles saw the introduction of front-hinged rear doors. With the convertible reserved for the Capri range, the Cosmopolitan was now sold as two-door and four-door sedans.
Retaining the 337 Lincoln flathead for 1952, Lincoln introduced a 317 cubic-inch Lincoln Y-block V8, with the 4-speed Hydramatic as the exclusive transmission for 1953.
Lincolns won the top four spots in the Stock Car category of the Pan American Road Race in both 1952 and 1953. while taking first and second place in 1954.
In 1950, under the Harry S. Truman presidency, legend has it that Truman held a grudge with General Motors because they would not give him use of their cars during his run for the 1948 presidential election; thus, he chose Lincoln for the presidential state car.
The White House leased ten Lincoln Cosmopolitans, built by the Henney Motor Company for Lincoln, and modified by the Hess and Eisenhardt Company. The cars were modified with extra headroom to accommodate the tall silk hats popular at the time, and were painted black. Nine of the automobiles had enclosed bodies, while the tenth was an armored convertible especially for President Truman. The tenth Cosmopolitan was 20 feet (6.1 m) long, 6.5 feet (2.0 m) wide, and weighed 6,500 pounds (2,900 kg), 1,700 pounds (770 kg) heavier than a stock Cosmopolitan. All ten cars were outfitted with 152-horsepower (113 kW) V8 engines "with heavy-duty Hydra-Matic transmissions."
In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower had the Cosmopolitan convertible fitted with a Plexiglas roof that became known as the "Bubble-top"; it remained in presidential service until 1965.
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