From the Ford Motor Company in 1956, Here’s a detailed film history of the creation of the Continental Mark II.

It’s only appropriate that we lead this video feature with a photo of William Clay Ford. After all, he was in every sense the driving force behind the Continental Mark II. The son of Edsel Ford, grandson of Henry Ford, and father of current Chairman of the Board William Clay Ford Jr., Bill Ford was selected to lead the newly formed Continental Division, an organization with a single objective: to create the Continental Mark II. (This seems like as good a point as any to note that the Mark II was not a Lincoln. Continental was formed as a stand-alone brand.)

From left: Harley Copp, Bill Ford, Gordon Buehrig.

Only 27 when the project was first launched, Bill Ford led an all-star team of automotive talent at Continental Division, including chief stylist John Reinhart, chief engineer Harley Copp, and body engineer Gordon Buehrig. And fortunately for us, they’re all seen in this original Ford film. Young Ford took a firm, hands-on approach in the program. His original dream was to be a stylist himself, but family responsibilities made that impossible. And the Mark II was to be built on the legacy of the original 1939 Lincoln Continental, one of his father Edsel’s most beautiful creations. Bill Ford made sure the Mark II would be a product the Ford family could be proud of.

While the the Mark II was by no means a financial success—each one cost considerably more to build than the list price of nearly $10,000—it was far from a failure. Indeed, the project accomplished exactly what Bill Ford and the Ford family set out to do: to produce the finest automobile the Ford Motor Company knew how to make. The original Continental Division film below tells a bit of the story.