Positioned below the company's Continental Mark II coupe during 1956–1957 and above the Capri which it shared from 1956 to 1959, it was produced in 2 and 4 door versions which could both accommodate up to six people.

[2] The Premiere was for a short time the largest, top level 4-door sedan Lincoln offered against rivals from Cadillac, Imperial and Packard during the mid-1950s while not being available as an extended length limousine.

It was known for a stylish exterior, high-grade interior and some unique features, such as optional factory installed air conditioning being run through overhead ducts much like those in an aircraft.

[2] While advertising brochures made the case that Continental was still a separate make, the car shared its body with that year's Lincoln.

Lincoln lost over $60 million ($650,900,474 in 2023 dollars [3]) during 1958–1960, reflecting the enormous expense of developing the largest unibody car produced to date[5] and poor consumer reception.

[9] Alex Tremulis, Chief Stylist at Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg in the mid to late 1930s and famous for the 1948 Tucker Sedan, was head of Ford's Advanced Styling Studio during this period.

It was his Ford La Tosca concept car, with its oval overlaid with an "X" theme, that gave birth to the "slant eyed monster" nickname to the 1958 Lincoln front end.