1955 Continental Mark II

Chassis No. C5601476

The name Contintental was first used by Ford in 1940 for the most exclusive variant of the Lincoln Zephyr. In order to offer the demanding clientele a new top-of-the-line model, Ford decided to build a new Continental at the beginning of the 1950s. The “Special Products Division” under William Clay Ford, Henry Ford II's brother, was responsible for this. The financial resources for the development of the new model were enormous and no comparison to those of the usual luxury brands, especially those from Europe, which were much smaller at the time, weakened by the Second World War. On the first of July 1952 the “Special Products Division” became the Continental Division and thus a separate brand within the Ford group. The clear objective of the Continental Division was to develop aluxury vehicle that ranked above the previous American luxury brands Cadillac, Packard, Chrysler, and Lincoln. In fact, the Continental was aimed at customers who had previously purchased a Rolls-Royce.

In order to also appeal to the previous customers of the successful Lincoln Continental, the new model was called the Continental Mark II. The biggest difference, however, was that the Mark II model was not a Lincoln, but a new model of a completely separate brand. The modern pontoon design was more elegant and less conspicuous compared to the competition. When first presented, it was very well received and the Continental Mark II became a design milestone with many details inconspicuously integrated inconspicuously in contrast to other more flamboyant American luxury cars of the period. For example, the exhaust tailpipes are flush with the bumper and the fuel filler is hidden behind the left tail light. A special design element was the curvature in the boot lid to accommodate the spare wheel. This design element already existed on the Continental Mark I and so it is commonly referred to as the 'Continental Kit' to this day.

The Continental was also technically ahead of the competition in many areas. The drive was provided by a 6.0-liter V8 engine, which was specially assembled by hand and finely balanced. It was coupled to a modern multi-drive three-speed automatic that put the power on the road. This allowed the moderatly heavy car to reach 62 mph in an impressive 12-seconds on the way to a top speed of 114 mph. These were enormous figures at sports car level in the 1950s. The car's frame also had a new design, where it was lowered between the axles and thus offered significantly more interior space than its straight-frame rivals. The chassis had independent suspension at the front and a rigid axle with leaf springs at the rear. A novelty were the telescopic shock absorbers, which changed the damping in the Mark II depending on the speed. In addition, there were numerous luxurious features as standard, not available on most cars of its time. Among other things, the car has four electric windows and even electric triangular windows. The high manufacturing quality, expensive materials, and exclusive equipment can be seen in many details. The design and manufacturing effort that went into the hubcaps or the radiator grille, for example, is enormous. The cars were assembled mainly by hand in a separate factory. The paintwork was also done very elaborately in numerous time-consuming individual steps and finally polished to a high gloss by hand. The only extra that could be ordered at the time was an air conditioning system for a whopping $595.

The expense drove the new price up to an nearly $10,000 US dollars and the car was thus aimed at a very exclusive clientele. In comparison, the most expensive Cadillac models cost about half of that and a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing cost “only” $6,820 by comparison. It was the pinnacle of American automobile manufacturing in the 1950s and so the absolute stars and business giants of its time drove it: Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, and Elvis Presley. all drove a Continental Mark II. It sold extremely well taking into account the high price with a total of just over 3,000 vehicles sold in 1956 and 1957. In 1956 Ford became a public limited company and ceased production of the Continental Mark II, as the enormously high manufacturing costs made it uneconomical to sell the Ford family's labor of love.

Delivered in October 1955 in the elegant color combination of black over a white-grey leather interior, this is according to the Continental Mark II Registry, one of only 84 vehicles delivered in this color combination. It is also one of the rare examples with optional air conditioning. Between 1971 and 1984 this example was with a collector in Florida.4. Later, the car was sold to a well-known classic car fan in Switzerland, who enjoyed his Mark II near his home on Lake Lugano. In 2005, he sold the car to the current owner from Germany. Currently part of a collection, this Continental Mark II and has been moved very little in the last few years. The car runs and is roadworthy, but some of the technical parts ( fluids, seals, overhaul of the chassis) should be attended to to be fully operational again. The paintwork is very nice, except for a large scratch on the driver's door. The interior is still largely original with a slight patina.