Eugene T. "Bob" Gregorie, Chief Stylist at Ford, designed a personal vehicle for Edsel Ford in preparation for his March vacation. The design, based on the Lincoln-Zephyr, was completed in approximately one hour.

The Lincoln Continental series began after Edsel Ford commissioned a custom 1939 Lincoln-Zephyr convertible as a vacation vehicle. Its design, featuring European "continental" styling and a rear-mounted spare tire, led to the model line's name.

Production of the Lincoln Continental began with hand-built convertibles and a limited number of coupes. The initial models were extensively hand-built, with machine-pressing dies not being constructed until 1941.

Lincoln Continentals from 1939 to 1941 shared largely the same body design with each other with push-button door catch releases displacing the previous lever type handles for 1941.

Edsel Ford received the prototype designed by Gregorie in Florida. The positive reception from his friends led him to send a telegram to Michigan, suggesting he could sell a thousand units, which led to the car being named Continental.

All Lincoln models, including the Continental, received squared-up fenders and a revised grille for the 1942 model year, resulting in a boxier appearance. Production was cut short due to the United States entering World War II.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the production of automobiles for civilian use was suspended, impacting the Lincoln Continental.

After World War II, Lincoln resumed Continental production as a 1946 model, dropping the Zephyr name. The design was updated with new trim and a new grille to attract buyers.

Following Edsel Ford's death in 1943, Bob Gregorie, the Continental's designer, departed Ford Motor Company after a corporate management reorganization.

Walnut wood trim was added to the interior of the Lincoln Continental in an effort to attract buyers.

The Continental was discontinued as Lincoln sought to redevelop its 1949 model line as an upgraded Mercury. The expensive personal-luxury car no longer fit into Lincoln's plans.

Ford created the Continental Division centered around its new flagship vehicle. To highlight the European influence of the original Continental, Ford assigned the Mark II suffix to the new Continental.

At its launch, the Continental Mark II was the most expensive automobile sold by a domestic manufacturer in the United States, rivaling the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud.

After 1957, the Mark II was discontinued, and the Continental Division was re-branded as a competitor to Imperial and Cadillac rather than Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

To widen its sales potential, Ford required Continental to reach a $6,000 price point, allowing the division to better compete against Cadillac Eldorado and Imperial LeBaron.

The Continental Mark III was designed by John Najjar, Chief Stylist of Lincoln, assisted by Elwood Engel largely drawing influence from the 1955 Ford La Tosca concept model designed by Alex Tremulis.

Elwood Engel developed a proposal for the 1961 Ford Thunderbird with staffers Howard Payne and John Orfe. While the proposal was not selected for the Thunderbird, the design interested Ford executives to the point of desiring the vehicle as a four-door Lincoln.

Ford cancelled the Continental division outright, with its model line remaining through the 1960 model year as part of the model cycle.

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

Ford made a decision to develop a new successor to the Mark II, naming it the Continental Mark III, effectively continuing the Mark series.

As Lincoln redesigned its model line, the Continental went from being a flagship marque over Lincoln to the only model line sold by Lincoln for the next 16 years.

Following $60 million in losses to develop the 1958–1960 cars, all models were replaced by a new Lincoln Continental.

The 1961 Lincoln Continental and its designers received a bronze medal by the Industrial Design Institute (IDI) of New York. It also won Car Life's 1961 Engineering Excellence Award.

The wheelbase was increased from 123 to 126 inches, shifting the rear seats backward.

Lincoln debuted the Continental Town Brougham concept car, which had a 131-inch wheelbase, overall length at 221.3, and had a retractable glass partition between the front and rear compartments, with an exposed area over the front compartment, in typical 1930s style town car/brougham appearance.

The convex "electric shaver" front fascia was replaced by a more angular blunt hood with an upright flat grille design.

Lincoln introduced its first two-door pillarless hardtop since 1960 to better compete against the Cadillac Coupe de Ville and the Imperial Crown Coupe.

The convertible underwent several equipment revisions for the first time, adding a glass rear window and the top mechanism added a second hydraulic pump for opening the convertible roof and the trunklid (making the two systems separate); hydraulic solenoids were deleted from the top mechanism.

1967 marked the final year of the Lincoln Continental convertible, with only 2,276 sold. After becoming the first four-door convertible sold after World War II, the Lincoln Continental would become the final (as of the 2018 model year) example of its type sold by an American manufacturer.

The Secret Service acquired a 1969 Lincoln Continental limousine for Richard Nixon; although an armored vehicle, the limousine roof was designed with a sunroof to allow President Nixon to stand in the vehicle to greet crowds in a motorcade.

Lincoln introduced the fifth-generation Lincoln Continental, building on the success of the Mark III introduced the year before.

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

Lincoln introduced a redesigned Continental two-door, Continental four-door, and Continental Town Car; sold only as a four-door, the Town Car was distinguished by a vinyl roof.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Lincoln in 1971, a Golden Anniversary Town Car was offered as a limited-edition option package for the Lincoln Continental.

The grille underwent a minor styling change, partially in an effort to better distinguish the Continental from the Mercury Marquis.

The Lincoln Continental was brought into compliance with federal crash regulations as it was fitted with a 5-mph front bumper.

As a counterpart to the Continental Town Car, a two-door Continental Town Coupe was introduced. In a similar fashion as the Town Car, the Town Coupe was distinguished by its padded vinyl top.

The Lincoln Continental was given a new grille, moving from an egg-crate style to a waterfall design. As part of federal regulations, a 5-mph bumper was added to the rear, leading to a redesign of the rear bumper; the taillamps were moved from inside the bumper to above it.

Lincoln made an extensive revision to the Continental. Coinciding with the 1975 introduction of the Mercury Grand Marquis, Lincoln and Mercury sought to better visually differentiate their two flagship model lines, in spite of their mechanical commonality.

The wide Mercury-style grille was replaced by a narrower, Rolls-Royce-style radiator grille, taking cues from the outgoing Mark IV grille.

From 1977 to 1979, Lincoln sold a Williamsburg Edition Continental Town Car. Intended as a cosmetic option package, the Williamsburg Edition was the only Continental or Town Car sold with two-tone paint; the edition also standardized a number of options.

The dashboard was updated for the first time, as the Lincoln Continental adopted a revised version of the Mercury Grand Marquis dashboard.

To commemorate the end of production of the Lincoln Continental and Continental Mark V while denoting them as the final "traditional" full-size American sedans and coupes, Lincoln offered a Collector's Series for both the Continental and Mark V.

The interior underwent further updating, as the Mercury-sourced dashboard received additional wood trim. The 460 V8 was deleted from the Lincoln/ Mark V model line entirely, leaving the 400 V8 as the sole engine.

For 1979, Ford and Mercury full-size sedans underwent extensive downsizing; Lincoln became the final American brand to release to a downsized model range for the 1980 model year.

The sixth generation of the Lincoln Continental would be offered only for 1980. To eliminate saturation of the Lincoln model line, the sixth-generation Continental was re-released as the Lincoln Town Car for 1981 (effectively lasting through the 1989 model year).

The Continental returned in October 1981 for 1982, becoming a mid-size competitor for the Cadillac Seville.

Coinciding with the introduction of the two-door Continental Mark VII, the Continental was given a styling update for the 1984 model year, bringing it closer in line with its two-door counterpart.

Lincoln introduced a diesel-engine offering for 1984, sourcing a 2.4L inline-6 turbodiesel from BMW (with a ZF 4-speed automatic transmission), producing 114hp.

The Continental adopted much of the aerodynamic design language of the Taurus, but had a more upright C-pillar, chrome grille, longer deck.

A 50th Anniversary Edition Continental Signature Series was offered during MY 1990 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the model.

The Continental was substantially restyled inside and out — and launched on December 26, 1994.

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of Lincoln, a Diamond Anniversary Edition of the Continental was offered as an option package.

The Continental was updated again in late 1997 for 1998 with redesigned front and rear end styling. The front-end also held a strong family resemblance to the newly redesigned 1998 Town Car.

For 2001, a Limited Edition was offered, featuring unique leather interior with "Limited" embroidery, two-toned interior trim, wood steering wheel, 6-disc CD changer, and 16-inch spoked aluminum wheels.

To commemorate the end of the model run for 2002, a Collector's Edition was offered featuring a genuine walnut burl steering wheel, instrument panel, and side door trim, "CE" logos, platinum painted grille, 10-spoke chrome wheels, and more.

Lincoln announced that 2002 would be the last year for the Continental. Along with declining sales of the model line, Lincoln faced a significant model overlap as the Continental, LS V8, and Town Car competed in nearly the same price range.

The final ninth-generation vehicle rolled off the Wixom Assembly production line.

Lincoln unveiled a Lincoln Continental concept sedan, serving as a preview for the replacement of the Lincoln MKS.

The tenth generation Continental went on sale in the fall of 2016. Previewed by a namesake concept car at the 2015 New York Auto Show, the 2017 Continental succeeds the Lincoln MKS, and was manufactured at Ford's Flat Rock Assembly.

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the 1939 Edsel Ford prototype, Lincoln introduced a Coach Door Edition of the Continental.

Production of the Continental ended without a replacement for the full-size sedan segment.