Lincoln first introduced the Zephyr for the 1936 model year as a lower-priced, more accessible entry in its luxury lineup. It marked an important shift for the brand, bringing streamlined styling and a more modern, mass-market approach to Lincoln at a time when the company was trying to broaden its appeal beyond traditional coach-built luxury cars. The original Zephyr ran through the early 1940s, when wartime production ended the prewar Lincoln passenger-car era.
The Zephyr name then disappeared for decades before returning in a very different form for China. Lincoln previewed the modern revival with the Zephyr Reflection concept in 2021, then introduced the all-new Lincoln Zephyr as a locally produced sedan for the Chinese market later that year. This revival used the historic nameplate on a contemporary luxury sedan aimed at Lincoln’s China lineup rather than as a direct continuation of the original prewar car.
Because the nameplate was discontinued and later brought back, the Zephyr has two separate production periods in Lincoln history: the original 1936–1942 era and the modern China-market revival that began in the 2020s.