This clever digital animation traces the evolution of the Lincoln Continental from its creation in 1939 to the present day.

The creation of the Lincoln Continental can be directly attributed to one man: Edsel Ford, son of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford. A man of exquisite style and taste—and thus a very different man than his father—Edsel directed his chief stylist, E.T. “Bob” Gregorie, to design for him a personal car based on the Lincoln Zephyr convertible, but lower, sleeker, and with more European flair: a “contintental” Lincoln, if you will. Edsel’s personal Continental (above) was such a sensation that it was whisked into limited production in 1939. And now, after more than 80 years, the model is still part of the Ford and Lincoln product line, and every Continental since then attempts to pay tribute to the style and elegance of the original.

This cleverly done digital animation by Mr.Chart,, a relatively new YouTube channel, tracks the evolution of the Continental from 1939 to the current model. True, there are some glitches and typos (lapses we know all too well ourselves) and a decision that may raise some eyebrows. While the 1956-57 Continental Mark II is included here, technically it was not a Lincoln. The Mark II was the product of a separate Continental Division at Ford. On the other hand, there is no disputing that the Mark II was both an homage to the original and a tremendous influence on the Lincoln Continentals that followed, so from that angle it’s only natural to include it in the evolutionary chain. In any case, we hope you find the animation engaging. Video below.