1956 Continental Mark II
At $10,000, this hand-built luxury coupe was America’s most expensive production car, costing nearly double the price of a Cadillac Eldorado. Ford Motor Company lost money (some say around $1,000) on every Mark II produced, with only 2,550 examples built for 1956.
The design team included William Clay Ford, John Reinhart, and Gordon Buehrig (famous for Auburn Cord Duesenberg styling). Unlike typical 1950s excess, the Mark II featured understated elegance with minimal chrome and no tailfins, following a “Modern Formal” design philosophy.
Power came from a specially prepared 368 cubic inch V8 producing 285 horsepower, with each engine individually hand-balanced. The car rode on a new Y-shaped perimeter frame that lowered the center of gravity while maintaining the 126-inch wheelbase.
Built by Ford’s separate Continental Division rather than Lincoln-Mercury, each Mark II was shipped to dealers in fleece-lined covers. Celebrity owners included Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and Elizabeth Taylor, making this ultra-exclusive coupe a symbol of 1950s prestige and automotive craftsmanship.
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