In the fall of 1938 Edsel Ford commissioned E.T. “Bob” Gregorie to create a one-off car for his upcoming winter vacation to Florida. Having recently returned from a trip to Europe, Edsel wanted a car with European flare, a long hood, short trunk and rear-mounted spare tire. Taking that into consideration and with too little time to build a car from scratch Gregorie utilized Lincoln’s Zephyr model as a base. Gregorie elongated the hood and fenders, lowered the roof, sectioned and lowered the cowl and added a rear spare tire. The streamlined design of the car had no running boards and featured far less chrome than most cars of the period, giving the car a very refined look. Once completed the car was shipped to Florida for Edsel to enjoy on vacation. With numerous people inquiring about the car and its availability, Edsel called Dearborn and had the car put into production, which it later was in 1939.

In 1942, the Continental went through a subtle redesign featuring a larger front end and a horizontal grille. Period advertising boasted the new 1942 Lincolns as, “The finest Lincolns ever built!” The success of the newly redesigned Continental was short-lived as the United States entered World War II. Prior to refocusing production towards the war effort Lincoln managed to produced 336 Continentals for the 1942 model year.

This 1942 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet is presented in a deep shade of maroon; the Lincoln factory color of a similar tone was called Victoria Coach Maroon. The car is powered by a smooth 305-cid V-12 engine which is paired to a column-shift three-speed manual transmission with overdrive. The car rides on whitewall tires mounted on steel wheels with factory wheel covers. Other exterior features include dual sideview mirrors, fender skirts, and the eponymous Continental kit. Power equipment on the car includes the convertible top and windows. The interior of the car is completed in tan featuring period elegance and style with bench seating, radio; and special features such as gold-plated instruments and ornaments.

This is a very rare car, with only 136 Cabriolets built in 1942. This car is considered a Full Classic by the CCCA.