Options included chrome bumper guards and wing tips, a clock in the door of the glove compartment, electric wipers, hydraulic brakes, and whitewall tires. The burgundy and sand-colored dashboard matched the steering wheel and housed fuel, temperature, and oil pressure gauges, along with the speedometer and voltage indicator. The 1940 Coupe originally sold for $700, which equates to a little more than $15,000 in today’s money.
According to Bonham’s, Ford built 27,919 Deluxe Coupes that year, and production of the Deluxe and Super Deluxe continued through 1948. Many of the surviving specimens have been converted to hot rods, making an original Deluxe a highly coveted relic.
The Deluxe’s camera-friendly combination of sharp angles in front and rounded roofline also make it a favorite of Hollywood producers; its popularity during the organized crime era that has been chronicled in dozens of movies doesn’t hurt either. The Deluxe has appeared in movies as varied as “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “American Graffiti,” and” Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid.”
