HISTORY: The Lincoln/Bentley Spat Dates Back More than 60 Years—as this 1953 Letter Attests. “At the time of the letter’s writing, in August of 1953, Ford was readying the 1956–57 Continental Mark II, a car many regard as the ne plus ultra of opulent Lincolnosity, a car that could legitimately compete with the Bentleys of the world for exclusivity. In fact, it was so exclusive, it was badged solely as a ‘Continental’—sans Lincoln. At the time, Bentley was preparing the S1-derived S Continental, its third automobile to bear the name, after the short-run Mark VI Continental and the 1952–55 R-type Continental, the cars that had initially aroused Ford’s ire. Have a gander at the two. While the machine from Crewe is not without its charms, the Yankee conveyance is clearly the more elegant of the pair.”