Property of a deceased's estate
1956 Lincoln Continental MkII Coupe

• Iconic American luxury car
• Timeless, elegant styling
• Present ownership since 2019
• Stored for the last seven years

"One of the all-time American postwar greats." - Richard M Langworth, Complete Book of Collectible Cars.

Nowadays synonymous with Lincoln, the 'Continental' model name was first used in 1940 for Bob Gregorie's masterly styling exercise on the existing V12 Zephyr chassis. A sportier, top-of-the-range companion to the Zephyr, the Continental had started out as a personal, custom-bodied one-off commissioned by Lincoln boss Edsel Ford, and would be hailed as a classic of automotive design by authorities as diverse as the Museum of Modern Art and the Classic Car Club of America. The demise of the V12 engine at the end of the 1948 season meant that there would be no more Continentals for seven years, but when it did return, the new Continental caused just as much of a sensation as the original.

Premiered at the Paris Salon in October 1955, the Continental MkII was a sublimely styled hardtop coupe created by a team that included Gordon Buehrig, William Clay Ford and John Reinhart. The MkII was powered by the most powerful (300bhp) of Lincoln's 368ci (6.0-litre) overhead-valve V8 engines and boasted a host of desirable features as standard including power steering, power brakes, power seat, radio, whitewall tyres and a heater. Air conditioning was the sole convenience option. Priced close to the then breathtaking $10,000 mark, the Continental MkII was necessarily a most exclusive automobile. Only 2,550 were made in 1956 and a further 446 in '57. Ford is reputed to have lost around $1,000 on every MkII sold, an unsustainable situation that prompted the introduction of the heavily revised and considerably cheaper MkIII for 1958.

The late owner purchased this Continental Coupe from a US auction in September 2019. The car remains as it was when imported into the UK but has not been used. Kept in storage for the last seven years, it runs and drives but will need to be checked over before any extended use. The late owner had a Continental Convertible (also in this sale) which saw more frequent driving, hence the lack of use. Offered with V5C Registration Document, this MkII would make a wonderful addition to any collection of post-war American cars.