The history of Lincoln is filled with beautiful, elegant vehicles, but one particular concept car was built to experiment with luxury features – some would later become commonplace, while others were never heard of again.

Built to celebrate Ford Motor Company’s 50th anniversary in 1953, the two-door, five-passenger Lincoln X-100 convertible was called a “laboratory on wheels.” Originally known as the Continental 195X, the Lincoln X-100 had 665 pounds of electrical equipment connected by eight miles of wiring supporting more than 50 automotive innovations.

Most notably, it featured a revolutionary sliding plastic panel roof that could be retracted underneath the fixed portion of the roof, either with the push of a button on the instrument panel or by applying extra pressure to the button that opens the door. A moisture-sensitive switch could detect rain and automatically close the non-glare roof and the windows.

The X-100 was conceived with touches of home and office in mind, featuring an in-car phone, dictation machine and electric shaver. Some innovations would be familiar today in some fashion, such as an electric gear selector, electric seat warmers, and signal-seeking radio with independent front and rear controls. Other novelties that fascinated in the 1950s but did not become mainstream include front brakes cooled by thermostatically controlled blowers, built-in electrically operated jacks for each wheel, a variable-volume horn, and the use of four windshield wipers for overlapping coverage.

Unconventional design could be found in the front bumpers integrated into the headlight housing, while the rear bumpers were integrated into the exhaust ports. A built-in battery charger was created for the express purpose of captivating crowds of onlookers.

In another nod to the future, the body of the concept car was comprised of aluminum and other lightweight metals, which reduced its weight by more than 250 pounds. The engine featured an entirely new variable intake manifold-carburetor system that made additional carburetors available for high-output scenarios, allowing the X-100 to produce 300 horsepower.

The car was displayed across the U.S. and abroad, including at the Paris and London motor shows, in fall 1953. It also reportedly co-starred with Lauren Bacall in the 1954 film “Woman’s World.” The Lincoln X-100 was later donated by Ford to the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.