The 1961 Lincoln Continental is a four-door saloon styled by Elwood Engel. It originated as a rejected 1961 Ford Thunderbird proposal in 1958. Ford executives redirected it into a four-door, four-seat Lincoln. Its success convinced Ford President Robert S. McNamara to retain the Lincoln brand after considering its termination. Engel focused specifically on Lincoln vehicles during his time at Ford.
The Lincoln Futura is a 1955 concept car designed by Bill Schmidt and John Najjar, built by Ghia in Turin, Italy, at a cost of $250,000 (equivalent to $3,000,000 in 2025). Its styling was original by 1950s standards, featuring a double clear-plastic canopy, exaggerated hooded headlight pods, and very large, outward-canted tailfins. The car had a complete powertrain and was fully operable, in contrast to many show cars. Its official public debut was on January 8, 1955, at the Chicago Auto Show; it had been shown to the press at the city's Congress Hotel on January 5. While being displayed elsewhere in the U.S. that spring, the Futura was seen by the country's television audience on Today ("The Today Show") on March 3, 1955. The idea for the Futura came from designer Bill Schmidt, who got the idea while he was diving, after an encounter with a shark.