What the critics said
“Despite their size, Lincolns and Continentals are amazingly nimble. The Continental test car amazed all with its excellent performance. It was the first car weighing more than 5000lb able to crack nine seconds in 0-60mph tests! Several of these runs were clocked at 8.9 seconds and the overall average was a flat nine…” Motor Life, March 1958.
“Lincoln learned the hard way that luxury car buyers demand impressive size. The compact 1952-55 models never did win the share of the market they deserved. It was with this in mind that 1958 models were born – and they have a lot to offer, not only in size, comfort and performance, but also in advanced and rather unique engineering features.” Motor Life, March 1958.
“The advent of the huge 1958 around the Road & Track’s offices created more controversy than we’ve experienced for years. Most of the staff opinions were slight variations on “What could anyone possibly want with that thing?” Road & Track, August 1958.
“The biggest improvement for 1960 is in the rear suspension department. Gone are the previous coils which led to ‘dipping’ and ‘diving’ and are replaced with Hotchkiss-type longitudinal leaf springs.” Motor Life, December 1959.
“Folks who like their living rooms on wheels and who crave easy-chair, carpetslipper comfort in 80mph cross-country travel could go a long way before they found the equal of the 1960 Lincoln Continental, a true Leviathan of the turnpike.” Car Life, April 1960.
There’s no doubting that this generation of Continental is a real Marmite car and even when they were new, not all pundits were complimentary, as evidenced by Road & Track’s critical, somewhat acerbic assessment of it in August 1958. They referred to it as a “modern day Bugatti Royale”… and that wasn’t meant as a compliment. They must have been one of the last publications to test the car, as by then the 1959 models would have been on the horizon, so it’s entirely believable that Lincoln must have known they would bash the car, which of course they did. Road & Track epitomised the American motoring press of the time which praised small, nimble European sports cars, most of which were unaffordable or impractical to American motorists of the day, while slamming home-built American vehicles. Arguably one could view most of the American motoring press of the time as elitist and snobbish, but these sentiments very much began to become more mainstream going into the Sixties.
“THERE’S NO DOUBTING THAT THIS GENERATION OF CONTINENTAL IS A REAL MARMITE CAR...”