Lincoln Continental I gallery (1939–1948)

The first-generation Lincoln Continental established the American personal luxury car segment with its distinctive Continental spare tire mount and European styling.

All photos 121 I 0 1939–1948 II (Mark II) 0 1955–1957 III (Mark III / IV / V) 0 1958–1960 IV 0 1961–1969 V 0 1970–1979 VI (Panther) 0 1980–1981 VII (Fox) 0 1982–1987 VIII (FN9 / D186) 0 1988–1994 IX (FN74) 0 1995–2002 X (D544) 28 2016–2020

The first-generation Lincoln Continental was conceived as a one-off personal car for Edsel Ford, developed on the foundation of the Lincoln-Zephyr before entering series production for the 1940 model year. Built on a modified ladder-frame chassis with solid axles and transverse leaf springs, it was offered as a two-door coupe and cabriolet. Power was provided by a 4.8-liter (292 cid) flathead V12 engine producing around 125–130 horsepower, paired exclusively with a column-shifted three-speed manual transmission with optional overdrive. Design highlights included an elongated hood, lowered roofline, deleted running boards, and the trademark exposed spare tire mounted on the rear bumper. Following a brief run in 1942 with revised front-end styling, production was suspended for wartime manufacturing and resumed in 1946 with heavy die-cast front grilles and revised trim. Distributed primarily across North America, the first-generation Continental became an internationally celebrated icon of automotive elegance, setting aesthetic precedents that defined Lincoln luxury for decades to come.