Edsel Ford was well-known for having a rather keen eye for style. While his father before him was a pragmatic businessman with little time to devote to frivolity, Edsel knew that there was plenty of room in the market for stylish, beautiful cars and knew how to sell them. Edsel had a habit of commissioning special one-off cars based on production models to test out new designs. Before the days of the big auto shows, Edsel would simply take his special cars on holiday to show off to his wealthy friends. For 1939, he commissioned Ford's Chief Stylist, Bob Gregorie, to pen a "personal luxury car" based on the V-12 Zephyr chassis. Gregorie delivered a gorgeous design with a long hood to cover the twelve-cylinder engine, teardrop headlamps and unadorned slab sides with no running boards, sitting low and long on the chassis. It was a beautiful design, one that proved an instant hit with Edsel Ford's friends who immediately wanted their own. He may have used different tactics from his father