"The Continental, introduced in 1939, was one of the most graceful automotive designs ever executed, a fitting aesthetic sign-off for the age of the American classic car."
"The Continental, introduced in 1939, was one of the most graceful automotive designs ever executed, a fitting aesthetic sign-off for the age of the American classic car."
Stephen W. Sears in "The American Heritage History of the Automobile in America."
This seems to be my week for Lincoln Continentals. First of all, I have been driving a new one. Then, just by chance, I discovered the hulk of a classic 1956 Continental Mark II on the lot of a New Jersey restoration shop and spent some time running eyes and hands over its lovely lines. That same day, I also spotted a beautiful metal model of the 1956 in an antiques shop and dug into my pocket for more than I could afford.
The only part of this that was planned, in fact, was the test drive of the silver Continental, which seemed a good idea on a couple of counts.
This year is the car's 60th birthday. And the test seemed to have further merit because, like some other cars today, the Continental's dash provides information on instant and average fuel economy, not a bad thing given the price of gas and the probability that Washington's budget proposals will add further tax to every gallon.
The first Continental was conceived by Henry Ford's son, Edsel, as a special car to use on his vacation in Palm Beach, Fla. Returning from a trip to Europe, he gave sketches of foreign luxury cars to Ford stylists and asked them to give his car a ''continental look'' that would include a spare tire mounted on the trunk.
The vacation vehicle was delivered in February of 1939, and everyone who saw it thought it was sensational - so much so that the company decided to put it into production. The 1940 model, introduced in October of 1939, was built on a Lincoln Zephyr platform, had a 120-horsepower V-12 engine and cost $2,850.
The car has long been a collector's item, and prices now range upward of $30,000. The nameplate disappeared in 1949, but that second Continental, the Mark II, produced another instant classic when it was introduced in 1956, and that car, made only in 1956 and 1957, was priced at $10,000, lofty indeed when you consider that a standard Lincoln hardtop could be had for $4,600.
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