Link to 1937 lincoln-zeypher.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Lincoln...jpg#filehistoryMy uncle has one of these he is restoring, in addition to about a million other cool cars from the 20's to present. He tells this of the history of this car: Prof. Porsche came to the states to meet w/Henry Ford to learn about assembly line construction. Ford shared plans for this car: unit-body construction, rear mounted motor with transaxle, aerodynamic lines, bolt on fenders. If you look at the photo and follow the pin stripe line from the A pillar to the front bumper, imagine that hood sloping down to the bumper rather than having an upright grille. Remind you any of a certain "peoples car" ?. In the interest of getting the car to market, they updated the flathead V8 design and made a V12 out of it, changed the front of the car to hold the radiator and this new motor, and used existing trans and rear end. Early parts bin engineering? And so the car went to market as a front engined V12 watercooled car, although the plans were for a rear engine/transaxle design. If someone can surf up a rear photo of one of these, the likes are amazingly similar to, ah, an early bug... The day I was at his place I was leading a tour of my auto cross club thru the maze of amazing cars being done in his shops, and I forgot my canera!!! The had to build their own rig to hold and rotate the car for the body restoration. They had nothing in the shop that would hold it. Its a huge, heavy old 1903's car. And very cool.
Is the story true- did Porsche "borrow" from the Fords plans for this car when he saw them in the early 1930's? Who really knows, but I prefer to think great minds can move in the same direction independently of each other.