A man of impeccable good taste in cars just as he was in everything else, Edsel Ford championed the Victoria body style at the Ford Motor Company.
Born in a farmhouse in rural Michigan in 1863, Henry Ford was a man of plain and simple tastes, but his only son Edsel was nearly the exact opposite. He and his wife Eleanor were patrons of the fine arts, filling their home with works by Impressionists and Old Masters, and Edsel’s refined eye extended to his management of the Lincoln Motor Company as well. There he took a personal interest in the luxury carmaker’s many coachbuilt body styles, and one of his favorites, it was often noted, was the Victoria.
Like most coachbuilding terms, the Victoria label is fairly elastic, but in general it referred to a body style halfway between a coupe and a sedan, with a close-coupled rear passenger compartment and a rounded deck at the rear. (Naturally, there is an open version as well, typically called a Victoria Convertible or Victoria Cabriolet.) For the 1930 model year, the elegant body style was adapted to the low-priced Model A Ford.
Introduced in November, the Model A Victoria (above) was a late addition to that year’s line and as a result, volume was rather limited at not quite 6,500 units. All were Deluxe models with full equipment and a tan canvas roof covering.When the style was continued through 1931, another 37,000 units were produced.
As we can see, the Victoria style underwent a transformation when adapted to the Model A Ford chassis with its petite 103.5-inch wheelbase: Here it was much more of a sedan than a coupe, with just the hint of a bustle at the rear of the body. Tudor sedan doors and folding seats provided access to the cozy rear passenger area.
For 1932, the Victoria style was continued on the four-cylinder Model B and V8-powered Model 18, and at $525/$575 it was one of the more expensive models in the lineup. Not quite 10,000 units were produced, nearly all of them V8s. All the American Victoria bodies for ’32 (designated B-190) were manufactured by Murray in its big plant at Milwaukee Junction in Detroit. Above, a ’32 Victoria is displayed next to a 1906-07 Model N in front of the Engineering Laboratory in Dearborn.
The Victoria was continued for 1933 and then received a makeover in 1934, with the rear bustle replaced by a flat, sloping panel with an opening deck lid (above.) This would be the final year for the Victoria in its original form, as the sedan and Victoria body styles had in effect converged. In 1935 there were two new sedan styles, the standard sedan (called a flatback or slantback by Ford collectors) and the Touring Sedan with integral trunk (aka humpback).
While the Victoria body style was discontinued in 1934, the name lived on. Starting in 1951, Victoria became the running model name for Ford’s pillarless hardtop body styles. (The stylish 1955 Fairlane Victoria is shown below). And of course, the Crown Victoria name was used on Ford’s popular full-sized rear-drive sedan from 1992 through 2012. While the Victoria label is not applied to any current Ford models, it wouldn’t surprise us to see it again at some point in the future. Who knows—perhaps on an electric or autonomous vehicle.
The Vicky is my ultimate favorite, with ’30 – ’32 being the most desired. The Victoria hardtops of the 50s were great too but they still didn’t have what the earlier ones had. I sure wouldn’t kick either one off my driveway…
I don’t believe the ’56 shown is a “Crown” Victoria.
The Crown model had a post with a very elegant and unique chromed strip running up the post, across the roof, and over to the other post.
Perhaps Ford’s most beautiful car of the 50s.
The ’56 shown here is a Fairlane Victoria as described in the text.
Correct. My best friend had one in high school. Beautiful car.
I drive a good representation of the Crown Victoria these days in the form of a 1999 Crown Victoria LX Special Edition. I agree it is likely the Crown Vic will return in some form of distinction in the not too distant future.I hope they get creative and find a niche for it in something other than a SUV.
I would like to offer a constructive correction to the text of this fine article. It is stated that all 1930-31 Ford Victoria were ” Deluxe models with full equipment and a tan canvas roof covering.” My first automobile was a 1931 Victoria and it had an insert of fabric in the center of the roof but no canvas cover. The Model A Ford enthusiasts often refer to this as a “steel top” Victoria and to the model with full canvas roof covering as a “canvas top”. Can someone confirm that there were two versions of roof covering on the Victoria and , if so , whether there was an additional charge for the “canvas top” variant? Thanks.
P.S.– in 1954 I traded my Vic and $150 to an elderly farmer in rural Iowa for his original 1930 Deluxe Phaeton Model 180-A in Washington Blue with Tacoma Creme road wheels and pin stripe. That car still exists today.
Those 56 Victorias in general are the most stylish cars Ford US made in that decade. The slightly dated Y block was a [especially in hindsight] a little bit of a letdown but really only in comparison the the Chev engine.
Those 30s Victorias too were quietly stylish for the period.
Being born in ’56, I relate more to that era of cars. The ’56 Crown Vic was an awesomely gorgeous car. A friend of mine owned a glass shop. For many years, into the early ’90’s it was the only place that you could take your glass top Crown Vic to get a new glass roof, and pick up the car the next day. Up it the rafters of his storage room were two of the glass tops, waiting for the next customers who needed them.