The Lincoln Continental is a series of mid and full size luxury cars. The Continental name was first used by Lincoln in 1940 and has been produced in multiple generations since. During its production life, the Continental has featured in all parts of the Lincoln lineup, from flagship model to base model. Early generations of the Lincoln Continental are some of the collector markets most desired models. The Lincoln Continental has been built in ten generations: 1st Gen (1940-1948), 2nd Gen - Mark II (1956-1957), 3rd Gen (1958-1960), 4th Gen (1961-1969), 5th Gen (1970-1979), 6th Gen (1980), 7th Gen (1982-1987), 8th Gen (1988-1994), 9th Gen (1995-2002), 10th Gen (2017-2020).