Ford · 1956–1957

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 first (and only) product line of Continental, the Mark II was developed as the worldwide flagship vehicle of Ford Motor Company. Developed as a successor for the 1939–1948 Lincoln Continental, the Mark II derived its nameplate from European manufacturing practice, denoting a second generation of the model family; Ford would later use this nomenclature for the Mark Series of flagship personal luxury cars. As the most expensive American-produced automobile of the time, the Mark II was marketed against the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and the Bentley Continental. Produced solely as a two-door hardtop coupe, the Mark II was largely hand-assembled, sourcing its V8 powertrain from the standard Lincoln line. Following the 1957 model year, the Mark II was discontinued, with the hand-built coupe replaced by a rebranded Lincoln. For 1969, Ford revived the Mark series chronology, debuting the (second) Continental Mark III coupe, leading to five successive generations, ending with the 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII coupe. Alongside its nameplate nomenclature, the Mark II debuted the integrated "Continental" spare-tire trunklid (in place of a bumper-mounted spare tire); each generation of the Mark Series (alongside the 1977–1980 Lincoln Versailles and 1982–1987 Lincoln Continental) used a variation of this feature. The Mark II also debuted the rectangular four-point star emblem, which remains in use on Lincoln-brand vehicles (in modified form) today. The Mark II was assembled by Ford at Allen Park Body and Assembly in Allen Park, Michigan. Following the discontinuation of the Mark II, the facility was converted to the headquarters of the ill-fated Edsel brand. Today, it remains as the Ford Pilot Plant, where Ford pre-production vehicles are hand-assembled for testing and production development.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Lincoln-Zephyr · Successor: Lincoln Continental Mark III

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Background

For the 1949 model year, all three divisions of Ford Motor Company unveiled their first post-war product line, with Lincoln discontinuing the Lincoln Continental after six years of production (interrupted by World War II). Following World War II, the Lincoln and Mercury brands had been grouped together within a common division to streamline their operations. While the Lincoln Continental had gone on to build a positive reputation, the Continental was an aging design, as a variant of the 1936 Lincoln-Zephyr. Following the withdrawal of the 1939–1948 Lincoln Continental, by the early 1950s, interest in a successor vehicle proved sufficient for Ford Motor Company to commence development on a successor. In 1952, the company formed the Special Product Operations team (later Special Products Division). Led by William Clay Ford, the team consisted of John Reinhart (chief stylist), Gordon Buehrig (chief body engineer; designer of the Cord 810), and Harley Copp (chief engineer). Initially meeting with rejection from upper Ford management, in 1953, design work was approved to bring a successor to the Continental to production. A full-size clay model was approved in June 1953, “subject to minor revisions.” The same year, the two-door luxury segment saw several American-produced vehicles enter production, with the launch of the limited-production Cadillac Eldorado, Buick Skylark, and Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta convertibles by General Motors (coinciding with the launch of the Chevrolet Corvette, as a sports car roadster), the Chrysler C-300 and the Packard Caribbean convertible. Under William Clay Ford, the Special Products Division set out several objectives. In addition to creating a successor to the 1939–1948 Lincoln Continental, the Continental Mark II was also intended to revive the

Model overview

Intended as a successor to the Lincoln Continental, effectively making its predecessor a Mark I, the Continental Mark II made its world debut at the Paris Motor Show in October 1955, a year and eight months after the introduction of the smaller two-passenger Ford Thunderbird personal luxury car (roadster). The Mark II debuted in the United States at Ford Motor Company headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. With a $9,966 base price ($119,778 in 2025 dollars ), the Mark II was the most expensive domestic-produced automobile sold in the United States at the time. The only extra cost option offered for the Mark II was a $595 ($7,200 today) air conditioner. Despite its high price, Ford Motor Company estimated it lost nearly $1,000 ($12000 today) for every unit produced. Chassis. The rear-wheel-drive Continental Mark II is constructed using a body-on-frame chassis layout. To lower its body and to optimize the use of dual exhausts, the Mark II uses a Y-shaped frame designed for the model line. A fully boxed crossmember was placed under the front seats, with six tube-style crossmembers located through the rest of the chassis. While the suspension layout itself was largely adapted from the Lincoln model line, to improve the handling and ride of the 5,000 pound vehicle, the Mark II introduced speed-sensitive shock absorbers for the front wheels. To streamline production, powertrain components were adapted from the Lincoln model line and checked through the division's quality-control program during production. The 368 cubic-inch Lincoln Y-block V8 powered the Mark II, paired with the 3-speed Turbo-Drive automatic transmission. For 1956, the engines produced 285 hp, increased to 300 hp for 1957. For a distinctive appearance, the engine had unique finned, cast-aluminum valve covers. Be

Branding

Developed as the successor to the first-generation Lincoln Continental, the branding of the Continental Mark II has been a source of confusion. Though the Continental Division was a stand-alone division (with a dedicated manufacturing facility), its product line was marketed and serviced through the Lincoln-Mercury dealer network (as Continentals shared mechanical commonality with Lincolns). In July 1956, Ford closed the Continental Division, integrating Continental into Lincoln. Post Mark II. For 1958, the Continental branding underwent further confusion. Though Continental no longer existed as a stand-alone division, the branding was used for a new car, as Ford introduced the Continental Mark III. Developed under a mandate to reduce its price to $6,000 (more competitive with Cadillac Sixty Specials and Imperial LeBarons). One of the largest cars ever built by Ford Motor Company, the Mark III was forced to abandon hand assembly, now built alongside the Lincoln Premiere; the model line was distinguished by its reverse-slant rear-window roofline (on all bodystyles, including convertibles). For 1959, the Mark III became the Mark IV, though receiving only minor model-year changes. For 1960, Ford introduced the Lincoln Continental Mark V, temporarily ending the use of the stand-alone Continental name. For 1961 production, Ford condensed the Lincoln brand solely to a single Lincoln Continental nameplate, dropping any generational nomenclature. With the exception of the 1977–1980 Lincoln Versailles, Continental was the exclusive nameplate used by Lincoln until the 1981 rebranding of full-size Lincolns as the Lincoln Town Car. Mark Series revival. For the 1969 model year, Ford Motor Company introduced the Continental Mark III flagship personal luxury car. Though the nameplate

Production and sales

The Continental Mark II was produced at the Allen Park Body & Assembly facility in Allen Park, Michigan. Established as the headquarters and assembly plant for Continental, in a major break from Ford tradition, a moving assembly line was largely dispensed with to facilitate hand-built construction and inspection. In the factory, each vehicle was assembled on a mobile carrier; as each segment of assembly and inspection was completed, vehicles were moved by hand to different assembly stations. Following the 1957 withdrawal of the Mark II, the facility was repurposed, becoming the headquarters of Edsel. Today, the facility is used as the Ford Vehicle Operations General Office and New Model Programs Development Center, used to develop new vehicles and their manufacturing. In total, 3,005 Continental Mark IIs were produced. This number includes three prototypes and 13 pre-production vehicles. Serial numbers for Mark IIs ran from 975 to 3989; numbers 986 to 998 were unused. The first regular production car was number 1001. The three prototype cars were numbered 500, 501, and 502F. The first two were scrapped in June 1956, and the third car survives today. While a convertible never reached production, two 1956 Mark IIs were converted to convertibles on an official basis. One was converted by Hess & Eisenhardt (no. 1126), while another was converted by Derham Body Company (no. 3190). The latter car was given to the wife of William Clay Ford as a personal vehicle; initially painted white, it was later painted sky blue. Many Mark IIs were purchased new by wealthy and prominent figures. These included Barry Goldwater (no. 2804), Dwight Eisenhower (no. 3411), Frank Sinatra (no. 1884), Elvis Presley (no. 3286), and Liz Taylor (no. 3196).

Appearances in media

The Continental Mark II was featured in the 1956 film High Society, starring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Louis Armstrong. After its sale to George Barris, the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car (which used a Mark II chassis and powertrain) was converted to become the Batmobile for the namesake 1960s TV series.

Legacy

While the Mark II two-door hardtop was the exclusive model line produced by Continental, several elements of the Mark II would live on in other Ford Motor Company vehicles. While the Continental retractable hardtop never saw production, the top mechanism would be utilized in the 1957–1959 Ford Skyliner; the mechanism also would see use by the 1961–1967 Lincoln Continental and the 1958–1966 Ford Thunderbird. As part of the Lincoln brand history, the Continental Mark II is the beginning of the Mark series (with two successors in its model history), introducing the integrated "Continental tire". The four-point star emblem of Lincoln debuted on the Mark II and has remained in use on Lincoln vehicles since 1958. Today, approximately half of the original circa 3,000 cars still exist in various states of repair; an active Mark II Forum exists.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

Predecessor: Lincoln Continental (1939–1948)
Successor: 1958 Continental Mark III, 1969 Continental Mark III
name: Continental Mark II
Model years: 1956–1957
Manufacturer: Continental (Ford)
Assembly: Allen Park Body and Assembly, Allen Park, Michigan, United States
Related: Lincoln Futura
Layout: FR layout
Body style: 2-door hardtop
Engine: 368 cuin 4-bbl. Y-block V8
Transmission: Turbo-Drive 3-speed automatic
Wheelbase: 126.0 in
Length: 218.4 in
Width: 77.5 in
Height: 56.3 in
Kerb weight: 5000 lb
Designer: John Reinhart (1953)

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1128789CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Mark_IICC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1355490097 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Continental_Mark_II.jpgCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: see file page · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.