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The Continental is Lincoln's longest running nameplate, and the gorgeous 1961 model falls within its production fourth-generation.

Luckily for Ford, the 1961 Lincoln Continental wasn’t a reluctant hero afraid of the lonely responsibility of saving the day. The fourth-generation full-size luxury Lincoln Continental car was a true savior equipped with the guts and flair to save the Lincoln brand from a rather painful death ­– for the third time. It started as a series of mid-sized and full-sized luxury cars manufactured by the Lincoln Ford Motor Company Division.

You could say that Henry Ford’s wife is to thank for the birth of the renowned and historic Continental nameplate we know today. It is well documented that Lincoln Continental began life as a personal vehicle for Henry Ford’s son and Ford Motor Company President Edsel Ford. But what many don’t know is that it was Mr. Henry Ford’s wife Clara that ‘compelled’ her husband to buy Lincoln in the first place.

It turned out that Cadillac’s chauffeur-driven cars had caught Clara’s eyes. So, when Lincoln, Cadillac’s competitor, faced imminent liquidation in 1922, Mr. Henry seized the golden chance to buy Lincoln and turn his wife’s attention away from Cadillac. Henry’s son Edsel oversaw the new Lincoln division’s daily operations. Admittedly, the Continental nameplate did not come immediately. Here’s the buildup to the 1961 Lincoln Continental.

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We like to think of Lincoln as a heroic brand with a champion’s DNA. Heroes tend to show up at the very last minute to save the day. The brand was at the cusp of extinction when Ford bought and saved it, ensuring its survival. It would happen again and yet again, only to be saved by a heroic Lincoln model at the very last minute. One might even argue that it saved Mr. Henry’s marriage with Clara.

Ford bought the Lincoln brand in 1922, nearly two decades before the Edsel Ford Prototype that birth the Continental nameplate in 1939. By that time, the Great Depression threatened the marque’s existence yet again. By 1935, the Depression bit so hard that Lincoln teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. The hero came as the Edsel Ford-produced, mid-priced Lincoln Zephyr. It would be the second time after the 1922 Henry Ford buyout that the Lincoln brand would escape the ax of doom.

Zephyr wasn’t just a champion. It was a testament to Edsel’s imaginative talent and Eugene Turenne Gregorie’s artistic skills. Like Continental, Zephyr was a luxury, futuristic car marked by a low-raked windshield, integrated fenders, and streamlined aerodynamic design. It was powered by a V12 mill, while competitors like the Chrysler Airflow and Packard One-Twenty went with V8 and inline-8 engines. This was the car that formed the basis of the first Continental. Notably, Continental went on to become the marque’s longest-running nameplate.

In 1938, Edsel Ford told Gregorie he wanted a one-off convertible for his vacation the following year. Gregorie developed the concept based on the Zephyr but with a redesigned body. When the finished work was delivered to Edsel in Florida, he sent word back to Gregorie to immediately put the prototype in production. The car had been an instant hit among Edsel’s rich friends.

Since Edsel had hopes of reviving the late 1920s and early 1930s Lincoln Victoria’s popularity, the planned production would feature an European-inspired design, hence, Edsel’s decision to name it Continental. The all-new, extensively hand-built Continental was mostly cabriolets and a few coupes. Less than 500 examples were made between 1939 and 1940.

Within fifty-five years, Lincoln introduced ten generations of the Continental, of which the 1961 Lincoln Continental fell in the fourth generation. At that point, the Continental became the brand’s exclusive model. The reason for consolidating the Lincoln lineup into one model was a last-ditch effort to save Lincoln from death following the $60 million in losses (about $569,000,000 in today’s money) incurred from the 1958–1960 Lincoln cars. In fact, the Blue Oval’s then vice president for vehicle operations had suggested axing the Lincoln division altogether.

The 1961 Continental was thus Lincoln’s last chance – for the third time in its history. Not only did Continental ensure Lincoln’s preservation by becoming a commercial success, but it also brought the brand a new and lasting prestige. The messianic 4th-gen Lincoln was initially only available as a 4-door sedan and convertible.

Related: This Is What A 1941 Lincoln-Zephyr Is Worth Today

The fourth-generation Lincoln Continental production run lasted from 1961 till 1969, with a total of 334,345 Continentals sold. The production years also saw three versions of the Continental, with the 1961 model introduced as a 4-door sedan and 4-door convertible versions. These succeeded the larger-sized 1958 Lincoln Premiere and Lincoln Continental Mark V.

It was around 15 and 8 inches shorter - in length and wheelbase - than the 1960 Continental Mark V but still heavier than its fiercest rival Cadillac or Chrysler Imperial. However, the circumstances of its creation contributed to its success since Ford not only ensured a solid construction but also subjected each car to a rigorous post-build inspection. In fact, the 1961 Continental was the first time in US automotive history that an automaker would offer its product with a 2-year/ 24,000 miles bumper-to-bumper warranty.

The doors (the rear doors were suicide doors) and instrument panels were made with California walnut veneer. The car pioneered the “Door Ajar” dashboard warning light in modern vehicles today. It was also the first four-door convertible (featuring a power-operated top) from a major American automaker post-WWII.

The car earned its Elwood Engel-led designers a bronze medal by the Industrial Design Institute (IDI) of New York, NY. This was no ordinary achievement considering that IDI rarely gives awards to vehicles. The 1961 Continental also won Car Life's 1961 Engineering Excellence Award.

Engel originally designed the car that would later become the 1961 Continental as a Ford Thunderbird, which explains why the Continental rode on a stretched version of Thunderbird's unibody platform. By 1969, Lincoln had stretched the chassis to 126 inches.

The powerplant was a 7.0L (430 cu in) MEL V8 borrowed from the Mark V. The engine was paired with a 3-speed automatic transmission in both sedan and convertible versions. The sedan variant was listed at US$6,067 (around $55,000 in today’s money), while the convertible was listed at US$6,713 (around $61,000 in today's money). 25,160 1961 Lincoln Continentals were made that year.

Philip Uwaoma, this bearded black male from Nigeria, is fast approaching two million words in articles published on various websites, including toylist.com, rehabaid.com, and autoquarterly.com. After not getting credit for his work on Auto Quarterly, Philip is now convinced that ghostwriting sucks. He has no dog, no wife- yet- and he loves Rolls Royce a little too much.