Lincoln
Zephyr Continental – Edsel Ford personal prototype

Why it matters

Edsel Ford's personal Zephyr-based car of 1939 led directly to the production Continental. Friends in Florida reportedly would have placed 200 orders on the spot, which persuaded Ford to build it.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

According to E.T. Gregorie, the design was traced over a one-tenth scale Lincoln-Zephyr sedan drawing in around half an hour, and Edsel Ford approved it unchanged. LCOC says work began in September 1938 and the first car was completed in February 1939; Mac's Motor City Garage says it was ready for review on 23 February 1939. It was built in the body engineering shop at the Warren Avenue plant by cutting up a production Zephyr, lowering and lengthening the hood by about a foot, lengthening the fenders and moving the cabin rearwards on the stock chassis.

Edsel took it on a Florida vacation in winter 1939 and his three sons drove it. A second 1939 prototype was finished in June 1939 for engineering development. Edsel decided in April 1939 to build the 1940 Continental, and production began in autumn 1939.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

The hand-built prototype used lead extensively in the bodywork and is said to have weighed nearly 5,000 lb. The exposed rear spare tire was an afterthought, because the short trunk could not hold a spare.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   Ford – The Origins of the Lincoln Continental Level A

   • 1 Edsel Ford's personal prototype (two further cars were then ordered for his sons Henry II and Benson)

   Accessed 2026-11-11
2. 2
   A Second Look at the First Lincoln Continental Level B Mac's Motor City Garage · 2026-09-18

   • a second 1939 prototype ... still survives today in the collection of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House
   • windshield and cabin were moved to the rear on the stock Zephyr chassis
   • It's said the prototype weighed nearly 5,000 lbs

   Accessed 2026-11-12
3. 3
   80 years of the Lincoln Continental Level B Hagerty Media

   • custom-bodied car Lincoln Zephyr, powered by a flathead V-12

   Accessed 2026-11-12