For years the mystery has gone unsolved. The mystery being the autenticity of the Mark II convertible. How many were manufactured and by whom? Throughout the years (since 1956) magazines have reported that there were two such cars built by Ford Motor Company's Continental Divisionm headed by William Clay Ford.

The Continental Mark II was in itself a unique car. Ford Ilustrated in the winter 1975 issue shed some light on the two convertibles' parentage in their review of the Continental marque.

"After the discontinuance of the Continental in 1948, an array of new Lincolns were built, some good, others not so good. The company kept receiving requests for another Continental. No doubt the officials took note, some more interested in the commercial value rather than the heritage. Whatever the reasons and motives, much credit should be given to William C. Ford, Edsel's younger son. He and his styling staff, including John Reinhart, designed the Mark II.

"Much publicity and built-up suspense preceded its introduction. The Mark II was formally introduced to the general public in October 1955 as a 1956 model." [However, one year prior to its introduction, William Ford announced his plans at the first national rally of the Continental Owners Club, held the week of October 16, 1954 at Greenfield Village, Michigan. - Ed.]

Ford Illustrated went on to say... "From its fine jewel-like grille to its sculptural rear tire mount cover over the rear deck it was a magnificently built automobile. It did not share chassis or body with any other Lincoln, it was strictly 'Continental'. Available in one model, coupe. A proposed cabriolet was considered for 1957. Actually there were two Mark II convertibles built, one by the company, another by an outside concern..."

Who that outside concern was, is still unknown. John Reinhart, cheif stylist for the Mark II told CAR CLASSICS that he know one car had been built for Ford by Derham for exhibition at the Texas State Fair. The March 1857 issue of Speed Age mentioned in a story titled "Is Continental a Dud?", "The ears of Continental enthusiasts perked up some time back when Continental announced that custom body builder Derham of Rosemont, Pa., had finished a Continental convertible and would display it at the Texas State Fair. Continental's executives considered bringing out such a model, but decided against it since it would have to be built by someone other than Continental, and Ford could not supervise quality control, and therefore couldn't issue a warranty. Even at the anticipated price of $18,000, Ford figured there would be plenty of customers waiting, but right now it had problems enough with the sedan."

Derham bodied Mark II (bottom) has a slightly different profile with the top raised then the Florida car.

No mention of a second Mark II convertible was made in that Speed Age article, yet one year earlier in an unnamed automotive publication a picture of the Mark II convertible was run with this caption: "Only one model of the Continental convertible was built this year [1956]. It was this car, contructed in Lincoln's own shops for the personal use of William C. Ford. The custom convertible used the Mark II body virtually unchanged except for the convertible top treatment. At the start there were plans to put the design into limited production, but there was never any follow-through on the idea. This design has been the result of much conflicting information as to whether one or two such cars were built. As far as could be determined from sketchy records that exist, there were actually two such cars - the model shown here, and an identical version built in 1957 by Derham for the Ford show fleet."

That entire statement contradicts Ford Motor Company which stated that the car was not built by Lincoln but by Derham, and that only one car was produced!

What happened to that first car built for Ford by Derham? After it was decided that production of a convertible Mark II was cost prohibitive, the car was given to Mrs. William C. Ford. Mrs. Ford later sold the car to Paul Wagner, a vice-president at Ford Motor Company, and a member of the Lincoln and Continental Owners Club. After a short time, Wagner sold the car to a fellow club member, Walter Goeppinger, who still owns the car.

Interior of both cars is identical except for the addition of Lincoln air conditioning to the Florida car.

Yuric car has a metal color-keyed boot that contains the entire retracted top. The Derham car's top is covered by a vinyl boot that snaps around the rear deck.

The engineering in the Mark II, like the body, was all new. The engine and transmission (although same as standard 1956 Lincoln) had a new block, 368 cid engine with 4x3.66 inch bore and stroke. The new design developed 285 bhp at 4500 rpm.

Goeppinger told CAR CLASSICS that Mrs. Ford had used to Mark II convertible as a family car and that it required restoration when he purchased it. The work was handled by a Minneapolis restorer named Odd Drathen. Drathen totally restored the car changing it original color from white to green and then to sky blue. The mechanics of the car were perfect and Goeppinger claims the Mark II is the best car he has ever driven, past or present. As to the origin of the second car, Goeppinger and Continental historian Axel Holm agree the second car (which both have seen) was produced, not by Ford or Derham, but by another custom coach builder. Serial numbers indicate the second convertible was a coupe purchased in Chicago sometime in 1956 and later taken to Florida for the custom conversion.

The second Mark II convertible, owned by Fred Yuric on Anaheim, California, is the only other known Continental of its type. There are several differences in the to cars. John Reinhart pointed out that the car he designed along with Gordon Buehrig (of Cord fame), has a different roof line than the convertible bodied in Florida. In addition, the Derham convertible has a canvas boot covering the lowered top while the Florida model has a steel color-keyed boot that holds the entire retracted top. The Florida car also has Lincoln air as an added option. The Derham car does not have air.

Although only about 3000 Mark IIs were built, the new Continental could have gone in several different directions. Reinhart pointed out that Ford had planned the two-door coupe for the first year and a four door model was being considered along with several other types. The most interesting was a convertible hardtop that retracted into the trunk. One such model was built and tested by Lincoln but Henry Ford and the Board of Directors decided that the design would go to the Ford Division, and shortly after, the Skyliner was introduced.

Oh, and the Mark II hardtop convertible... no one knows what happened to it. Another mystery to solve.