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116 BARRETT-JACKSON EXPERIENCE WINTER 2024THIS CUSTOM CONTINENTAL MARK II CAPTURES THE MODEL’S GRANDEUR AND ADDS MORECLASSIC CASHMEREIn all respects, the elite Continental Mark II of 1956-57 was a radical departure for Ford Motor Company – so much so that the car was not even badged as a Lincoln. Instead, it was the launch product of the newly formed Continental Division of the Ford Motor Company, with exclusive assembly facilities on Detroit’s Oakwood Boulevard. Development was spearheaded by William Clay Ford in tribute to his late father Edsel B. Ford, who conceived the original Continental with “Bob” Gregorie in the late 1930s. Key staff on the Continental Mark II program included chief stylist John Reinhart, chief body engineer Gordon Buehrig of Duesenberg and Auburn renown, and chief engineer Harley Copp. With excellent lines, the Continental Mark II possessed an understated beauty emphasizing purity of design and elegance, rather than flamboyance. Main design cues included proportions similar to those of the Thunderbird, as well as an homage to the original Continentals of the 1940s, a molded trunk lid in the shape of a concealed spare tire. Under the four-pointed star on the hood, which would later become the Lincoln emblem, rested a dynamometer-tested 368ci V8 engine developing nearly 300 horsepower. Largely hand-built with only the finest materials throughout, the Mark II was a direct competitor to Rolls-Royce and Bentley and initially priced at nearly $11,000, yet Ford reportedly lost an estimated $1,000 (likely understated) on every example built. Conceived at the height of automotive fashion, the debut of the Mark II at the 1955 Paris Motor Show was fitting, and prior to its release for sale 1,300 were presold. According to marque experts, approximately 3,000 examples of the Continental Mark II were produced, plus three prototypes and 11 pre-production vehicles, with the majority of production sold for model year 1956. Today, these glamorous vehicles continue to rank firmly among knowledgeable collectors and enthusiasts as the finest and most interesting of all American luxury cars of the postwar era. While improving upon the original Continental Mark II is extremely difficult, the builders of this custom RestoMod 1957 Continental Mark II managed to accomplish