1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II
The Continental Mark II is an ultra-luxury coupé that was sold by the Continental Division of Ford for the 1956 and 1957 model years. The only product line ever marketed by Continental during its existence, the Mark II served as the worldwide flagship vehicle of Ford Motor Company. The vehicle derived its name from European manufacturing practice, with “Mark II” denoting a second generation (succeeding the 1939–1948 Lincoln Continental).
As the most expensive American-produced automobile of the time, the Mark II was marketed against the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Produced solely as a two-door hardtop coupe, the Mark II used standard Lincoln mechanical components, including its “Y-block” V8 and automatic transmission. The rest of the vehicle was largely hand-assembled, leading Ford to lose thousands of dollars for each example produced.
This is a stunning example of the iconic 1956 Continental Mk II that is a great car for local shows and touring. This Mk II has benefitted from a gorgeous show quality repaint in Deep Red (Paint Code 13) with painstaking effort to align the body panels and a beautifully polished finish. The undercarriage proves that this car was not exposed to weather as it is without any rust or signs of repair or damage of any kind. The chrome and stainless are also beautifully refinished and are show quality. Even the wheel covers have been restored to appear as new. And the tires with the correct width white walls look just right.
The interior was redone at an earlier time and was executed in gray vinyl contrasted with a very correct deep red matelasse brocade fabric. The carpet is also a deep red and shows some sign of fading. The interior is showing some patina and the dashboard and trim have never been restored, showing that this was a well cared for example through the last 65 years.
The engine compartment is very well detailed and is show quality. It is obvious that significant time and attention was given to the engine compartment and related mechanicals. This is a very nice driving example with the venerable 368 CID V8 with 285 hp and the Turbo-Drive automatic transmission. The chassis has been well cleaned and painted with some light undercoating applied to the floorplans.
The Continental Mk II will always be one of the most significant post-War American cars and is considered a classic. This is an example of one that is very solid and ready to enjoy.
