Le monde: Edsel Ford’s Lincoln Continental on Display

Goes Round and Round

“Few cars embody a design feature distinctive enough that it becomes the name for that feature across the entire automotive industry,” writes photographer Royce Rumsey. “Such is the case with the Lincoln Continental Mk I and its distinctive rear-mounted spare that became known as the ‘Continental Kit,’ regardless of the automotive marque. Eugene ‘Bob’ Gregoire penned the Lincoln ‘Continental’ in 1939 as a one-off, custom-designed car for Edsel Ford. The design provided an elegant evolution of the initial, more rakish, Lincoln Zephyr design, incorporating a low roofline and sculpted “streamline moderne” themed body form (sans running boards)—borrowing and integrating the best design language statements from Darrin and Buehrig. Per the single-client intent, the resulting Continental became an archetype for the entire personal car genre that followed. Thunderbirds, Rivieras, the Cadillac Seville, the Grand Prix, Studebaker Hawks, and Avantis alike all owe their inspiration to the Lincoln Continental Mk I.”

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