Page 68 - Experience Magazine Winter 2023

LOT #1356 - 1956 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL CUSTOM MARK II – NO RESERVE
FORD’S

LUXURY

DIVISION

1956 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL
CUSTOM MARK II HEADED
TO SCOTTSDALE

Ford Motor Company created the Continental Division Auction takes this notion to the next level with elegant
for the 1956 model year. This division ranked above customization that blends traditional lines with new-
Lincoln as the company’s flagship marque. At its age technology. It seamlessly brings modern features
launch, the Continental Mark II was regarded as its own into the nostalgic heydays of hot rods and custom cars.
model line and was intended to be a successor to the Built by SIC Chops out of Cave Creek, Arizona, this
1940-48 Lincoln Continental personal luxury car. long and lean Mark II has a Jon Kaase 520ci V8 under
Offered as a 2-door hardtop coupe, the Mark II, known its hood that produces over 850 horsepower. The engine
as an ultra-luxury coupe, broke from several American utilizes Inglese eight-stack fuel injection and features
styling precedents when it debuted. It was largely hand- Kaase Boss Nine semi-hemispherical heads. The Mark
assembled and became the most expensive American- II rides on a one-off chassis from the Roadster Shop,
produced automobile of the time, with its price rivaling complete with Corvette C6 suspension, rack & pinion
only that of the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Since the steering and a Strange 9-inch rear end housing 3.73
Mark II used a Lincoln engine and transmission, it gears. Stopping power comes from a set of Wilwood
was marketed through Lincoln, alleviating the need brakes nestled behind one-off Colorado Custom
for a separate sales and service network for Ford’s 40-spoke wheels with machined bullet center caps.
Continental Division.
Although the body appears relatively stock and the
While the Lincoln was considered a work of art in body lines remain primarily as they were when fresh
its stock form, the 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II from the factory, almost every panel on this Mark II
offered with No Reserve during the 2023 Scottsdale has had work done. According to the consignor, the

68 BARRETT-JACKSON EXPERIENCE WINTER 2023