DeLorean Has Nothing on These Rare Stainless-Steel Cars

I say stainless-steel car, you say DeLorean. But while John DeLorean may have made the most iconic automobile out of the trusty metal, he was far from the first. In fact, back in 1935 when the engineer was just 10 years old, Ford Motor Company began a partnership with Pittsburgh’s Allegheny Steel which would lead to a series of limited-edition, stainless-steel versions of the company’s iconic cars.

Three of these metallic beauts will go under the hammer at Worldwide Auctioneers’ 13th Annual Auburn Auction in Indiana over Labor Day weekend (absent any potential coronavirus-related delays, naturally). The collection will be sold together and without reserve, and includes a 1936 Ford Deluxe Sedan, 1960 Ford Thunderbird and 1967 Lincoln Continental Convertible.

The most important factor that makes these so desirable is that they’re built by Ford. These aren’t some Frankensteinian machinations from a Pimp My Ride wannabe. All three of the cars were factory-built as part of “a campaign to showcase the extreme durability and aesthetic appeal of the new metal,” according to the listing, and despite being driven regularly, all of them are reportedly in good condition.

You may be wondering why you’ve never heard of these stainless Fords and Lincolns before. It’s simple: Only six of the ‘36 Ford Deluxe Sedans were made, and only four still exist today. The others are even more exclusive, with only three Lincoln Continental Convertibles and two Ford Thunderbirds rolling off the line.

There’s no auction estimate listed, but if we were inclined toward conspiracy theories, we’d say these are being auctioned off now because the Elon Musk factor has increased interest in stainless-steel vehicles.

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