- Continental Mark II
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The Continental Mark II was a personal luxury car produced by the Continental Division of the Ford Motor Company in 1956 through 1957. Many aficionados of the automobile consider the Continental Mark II one of the classics of the postwar period.Second generation 
1956 Continental Mark IIModel years 1956–1957 Assembly Dearborn, Michigan, USA Body style 2-door hardtop Layout FR layout Engine 368 cu in (6.0 L) 4-bbl. Y-block V8 Transmission Turbo-Drive 3-speed automatic[1] Wheelbase 126.0 in (3,200 mm)[2] Length 218.4 in (5,547 mm) Width 77.5 in (1,969 mm) Height 56.3 in (1,430 mm) Curb weight 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) Designer Bill Schmidt Contents
History
1956 Continental Mark II.
Ford wanted a superior and standalone up-market brand aside from Lincoln, to compete with General Motors Cadillac and Chrysler's Imperial brands.
The new Continental was not intended to be the largest nor the most powerful automobile, rather the most luxurious and elegant American car available, designed to recapture the spirit of the great classics of the prewar period—with prices to match. The Mark II's inspiration was the celebrated V12 powered Lincoln Continental of the 1940s, among the most notable cars of that War-interrupted decade.
Design
Having considered using an outside design team, Ford turned inside to their own Special Products Division. In Fall 1952, they designated John Reinhart as chief stylist, Gordon Buehrig as the chief body engineer assisted by Robert McGuffey Thomas; and Harley Copp as chief engineer.[3]
Ford had wanted to use unibody technology, but Copp argued against such a choice for a high-brand/low volume model, which was required to be delivered into sale in such a short time scale.[4]
What emerged was something quite unlike other American cars of the period. While other makes experimented with flamboyant chrome-laden styling, the Continental Mark II was almost European in its simplicity of line and understated grace.
There was something of the style of the early Ford Thunderbird at the front, with a tasteful egg-crate grille and a long, curving hood with straight fenders to the headlights. The straight fender line went back to behind the doors, at which point the line kicked up a little before curving back down to the taillights.
Little chrome was used compared to other vehicles of the time, and the only two-tone paint combinations offered were limited to roofs being contrasted with bodies. The car had power steering, power brakes, power windows, power seats, and power vent windows and a tachometer[5]. The vanes on the wheel covers were individually bolted inside the frame of the cover. It sported a high greenhouse and a wraparound windscreen. Gas entered the fuel tank via a swingaway left taillight. The Continental Mark II had only one option, air conditioning, for $595[6]. Cars with A/C had a different body parts.[7]
Most of the car was hand-built to an exacting standard, including the application of multiple coats of paint, hand sanding, double lacquering, and polishing to perfection.
For power, the Mark II featured the newly offered 368-cubic-inch (6.03 L) Lincoln V8. Standard equipment in the Lincoln line, the engines selected for the Mark II were effectively factory-blueprinted, assembled from the closest-to-specifications parts produced available. Turning out 285 hp (213 kW) in 1956, the engine was tuned to produce 300 hp (224 kW) in 1957. The engine was mated to a three-speed Lincoln automatic, and both engine and transmission were subject to extensive pre-release testing. In a 1956 report from Popular Mechanics, the Mark ll got 16.7mpg at 50 mph.[8]
A Mark II chassis was used to create the Lincoln Futura concept car.
Sales
The Mark II sold for $10,000,[9] the equivalent of a new Rolls-Royce or two Cadillacs. In spite of this, Ford estimated they still lost over a thousand dollars per car[10] on the 3,000 that were built.
About 1,300 were sold in the last quarter of 1955 after the car's October debut at the Paris Motor Show; another 1,300 or so in 1956; and 444 in 1957, some with factory-installed air conditioning. Initially, Ford accepted losses on the Mark II in return for the prestige it endowed its entire product line with, but, after going public, tolerance for such losses fell.
Famous owners included Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, the Shah of Iran, and a cross section of the richest men in America. The car was featured in the 1956 film High Society, starring Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Louis Armstrong.
Brand confusion
Rear view.While technically never a Lincoln and manufactured by a separate new division, Continental, the Mark II was sold and maintained through Lincoln dealerships, featured a Lincoln drivetrain, and sported a Lincoln emulating spare tire hump in the trunk lid. On its hood and trunk were four-pointed stars, soon adopted by Lincoln as its own emblem.
Handbuilt and resultantly expensive at USD10,000 on launch, the quickly redesigned 1959 MkIII was cheaper at $6,000, mostly because it recycled Lincoln parts and technology. The result was that the two products were difficult to differentiate within the customers mind, and resulted in the Continental marque being re-absorbed by Lincoln.[11] Confusion of the model as a Lincoln has reigned ever since.
Status today
Today, approximately half of the original 3,000 cars still exist in varying states of repair. An active owners' club exists[12] and thanks to the use of standard Lincoln mechanical components most parts required to keep them going are available. Prices range between $8,000 for a running example in poor repair to $70,000 in concours condition.
From today's vantage point it can be argued that the Continental Mark II was successful at being what it was intended to be: an American Rolls-Royce or Bentley, and a re-creation of the grand cars of the thirties. Unfortunately, it was not profitable to manufacture it even at its five-figure 1950s sales price.
References
- ^ Flory, Jr., J. "Kelly" (2008). American Cars, 1946-1959 Every Model Every Year. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-3229-5.
- ^ Flory, Jr., J. "Kelly" (2008). American Cars, 1946-1959 Every Model Every Year. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-3229-5.
- ^ "Reminiscences of Robert McGuffey Thomas". Autolife.umd.umich.edu. http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Design/Thomas_interview.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
- ^ Thomas E. Bonsall. The Lincoln story: the postwar years. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0s98D99c1tsC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=harley+copp#v=onepage&q=harley%20copp&f=false. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
- ^ Flory, Jr., J. "Kelly" (2008). American Cars, 1946-1959 Every Model Every Year. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-3229-5.
- ^ Flory, Jr., J. "Kelly" (2008). American Cars, 1946-1959 Every Model Every Year. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-3229-5.
- ^ Clymer, Floyd (1963). The Lincoln Continental.
- ^ Clymer, Floyd (1963). The Lincoln Continental.
- ^ http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1956-continental-mark-ii-convertible.htm
- ^ http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z7531/Continental-Mark-II.aspx
- ^ "All the Makes: Cadillac to Cunningham". Uniquecarsandparts.com.au. http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/auto_manufacturers_c.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
- ^ "Lincoln & Continental Owners Club". Lcoc.org. http://www.lcoc.org/. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
See also
Lincoln passenger vehicle timeline, 1922–1979 — next » Type 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Entry-level luxury car Lincoln-Zephyr WWII Lido Versailles Full-size Capri Continental Continental Premiere L-Series K-Series H-Series Cosmopolitan Personal luxury car Mark III Mark IV Mark V Limousine Custom Continental Mark III–V Halo car Continental Continental Continental Mark II Continental Mark III–V Categories:- Lincoln vehicles
- Lincoln Mark series
- Vehicles introduced in 1956
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