34 Facts About Lincoln Continental

Lincoln Continental is a series of mid-sized and full-sized luxury cars produced by Lincoln, a division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company.

The Lincoln Continental is the final American vehicle line with a factory-produced V12 engine, the final four-door convertible, and the final model line to undergo downsizing .

Lincoln Continental began life as a personal vehicle for Ford Motor Company President Edsel Ford.

At the time work had begun on the first Continental coupe, Lincoln had previously cancelled the Lincoln K-series coupes, sedans, and limousines, and produced the very limited Lincoln Custom limousine, along with the smaller Lincoln-Zephyr coupes and sedans, while the all-new Mercury Eight was introduced in 1939.

In line with the previous Lincoln Continental naming tradition, Lincoln Continental introduced its 1958 model line as the Mark III.

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The Lincoln Continental badging was restyled, with "Mark V" badging moved to the rear fenders.

In 1959, Lincoln Continental added the Limousine and Town Car body styles; the latter marked the first use of the Town Car name by Lincoln Continental.

Lincoln and Continental were faced with overcoming the expense of developing a vehicle that was shared with neither Ford nor Mercury.

In 1961, as Lincoln redesigned its model line, the Continental went from being the flagship Lincoln to the only model line sold by the division for the next 16 years.

Fourth-generation Lincoln Continental was styled by Ford design vice president Elwood Engel.

In mid-1958, Lincoln Continental was struggling against Cadillac, with its lack of profitability putting the future of the division at risk.

Fourth-generation Lincoln Continental rode on a stretched version of the unibody platform produced for the 1961 Thunderbird, lengthened to a 123-inch wheelbase from market launch to 1963.

At its launch, the fourth-generation Lincoln Continental was offered solely as a four-door, as either a sedan or a convertible.

In what would be the first four-door convertible from a major American manufacturer after World War II, the Lincoln Continental convertible was fitted with a power-operated top on all examples.

Unlike most tilt-adjustable columns that employ a lever-activated locking pivot joint just behind the steering wheel the Lincoln Continental version employed a vacuum-actuated clamp, a dash-mounted height indicator window and a pivot point much further down the column.

In 1964, Lincoln debuted the Continental Town Brougham concept car, which had a 131 in.

Several functional changes were made, as Lincoln Continental added a number of indicator lights to the dashboard.

Fifth-generation Lincoln Continental reverted back to body-on-frame construction, the first Lincoln to do so since 1957.

From 1970 to 1974, the Lincoln Continental was fitted with front disc and rear drum brakes; from 1975 to 1979, four-wheel disc brakes were available.

One of the most technologically advanced vehicles ever sold by Ford at the time, the 1980 Lincoln Continental introduced a standard 4-speed automatic overdrive transmission, electronic fuel injection with computer-controlled engine management, digital instrument panel, and trip computer .

Only offered as a four-door sedan, the Lincoln Continental was styled with a "bustle-back" rear end and marketed to compete directly with the Cadillac Seville and the Imperial.

The Lincoln Continental shared its wheelbase and powertrain with the Lincoln Continental Mark VII introduced for the 1984 model year.

An exclusive feature to the Lincoln Continental was adaptive air-ride suspension and variable assist power steering was standard.

Lincoln Continental adopts many of the Taurus, but has a more upright C-pillar, chrome grille, longer deck.

In late 1993 for MY 1994, the Lincoln Continental received another facelift, with revised bumpers, rocker moldings, and bodyside moldings.

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Inside, the Lincoln Continental featured a plush leather interior with many amenities and advanced electronics for the time.

Lincoln Continental was updated again in late 1997 for 1998 with redesigned front and rear end styling.

Also available on the 1999 Lincoln Continental was the "RESCU package" which included Global satellite positioning, 3-channel HomeLink compatible garage door opener mounted in the driver's sun visor, voice-activated cellular telephone, and the Alpine audio system .

Between the 2000 and 2002 model years, changes to the Lincoln Continental remained relatively minor as production of the model eventually came to an end.

For 2009, Lincoln introduced the MKS; while intended to replace the Town Car, the MKS was closer in length and width to the ninth-generation Continental and based on a front-wheel drive chassis .

The Lincoln Continental was manufactured in Flat Rock, Michigan, alongside the Ford Mustang.

Tenth-generation Continental introduced a new front end design theme for the Lincoln division, shifting from the previous “bird-in-flight” split grille to a slightly recessed rectangular design.

Between the concept vehicle and the production 2017 Lincoln Continental, were several differences; the concept vehicle was fitted with a glass roof and four-seat interior that were not included for production.

The production Lincoln Continental has larger side view mirrors, larger air intakes in the front fascia, and red-colored brake lights.