| Lincoln Mark | |
|---|---|
| |
| Manufacturer: | Ford Motor Company |
| Production: | 1956–1957, 1968–1998 |
| Class: | Personal luxury |
| Platform: | FR Lincoln Mark |
| Body style: | 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan (1979-1984) |
| This article is part of the Lincoln automobile series. | |
Description
The Lincoln Mark was Lincoln's 2-door personal luxury coupe from 1956 to 1998.
History
The 1956/57 Mark was produced while Coninental was a separate divison of Ford Motor Company apart from Lincoln. After 1958 when Continental was merged with Lincoln and the Lincoln Continental became the flagship model, the Mark continued to be sold as the Continental Mark II. The Mark kept the Continental prefix until 1984 upon the introduction of the Mark VII. The Mark VIII (1993-1998)was the last generation of the Mark and Lincoln's last personal luxury coupe.
Resale Value
| Year | Production | Price ($US) |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 48,591 | $8,640 |
| 1973 | 69,437 | $8,984 |
| 1974 | 57,316 | $10,194 |
| 1975 | 47,145 | $11,082 |
| 1976 | 56,110 | $11,060 |
1956 Continental Mark II
The Continental Mark II was a car produced by the newly formed Continental Division of the Ford Motor Company during 1956 and 1957. Many aficionados of the automobile consider the Continental Mark II one of the classics of the postwar period.
The new Continental was intended to be the not the largest nor the most powerful automobile, but rather the most luxurious and elegant American car available. What emerged was something quite unlike other American cars of the period. While other makes experimented with flamboyant styling, chrome everywhere, and all the glitz and glamor they could manage, the Continental Mark II was almost European in its simplicity of line and its understated grace.
Even though the Continental Mark II was technically not a Lincoln, it featured the Lincoln hallmark spare tire hump in the trunk lid, was sold and serviced at Lincoln dealerships, and the vehicle's drivetrain and forevears also came from Lincoln; thus causing many to think of the Mark II as a Lincoln.
The Lincoln drivetrain featured the new standard Lincoln 368 cubic inch (6.0 litre) V8.
Most of the car was effectively handbuilt to an exacting standard, including multiple coats of paint hand-sanded down and double-lacquered and polished to perfection. Due to this manfuacturing process the Continental Mark II cost $10,000, as much as a Rolls-Royce or two top-of-the-line Cadillacs.
Famous owners included Elvis Presley, as well as Frank Sinatra, the Shah of Iran, and a cross-section of the richest men in America.
Today, approximately half of the cars still exist, about 1500. Prices range between around $8000 for a running example in poor repair to around $70,000 in concours condition - thus, a car in perfect condition costs now, adjusted for inflation, about the same as the new one did in 1955.
1968 Continental Mark III
The Lincoln Continental Mark III was manufactured by Lincoln from 1968 to 1971. The Mark III was introduced to compete with Cadillac's front wheel drive Eldorado personal luxury coupe, which at the time had the monopoly in the Personal luxury car market. The Mark III was the first Mark produced by Lincoln itself since its predecessor the Continental Mark II was manufactured by Continental which for the two years of its manufacture was a seperate Ford divison apart from Lincoln. While the vehicle took many of its design cues came from the mainstream Ford Thunderbird, the vehicle's design was uniquely Lincoln. It featured the hallmark Rolls-Royce like grille, covered headlights, as well as the Continental spare tire hump in the trunk lid. The Mark III was one of the first vehicles to have power-controlled features and Anti-lock brakes. In 1970 the until then optional vinyl roof was made standard alongside with radial tires and tinted windows in 1971. The interior woodtrim was also upgraded to real wood in 1970.
| 1968-1971 Engines: |
| 7.5 L V8 |
1972 Continental Mark IV
While the Mark IV used many design components of the Mark III such as the grille and spare-tire hump, it was both longer and wider than the Mark IV. The hallmark opera windows and were added for the 1972 Mark. In 1973 the front bumper was replaced by a federally mandated 5 mph (8 km/h) bumper; in 1974 the rear bumper was replaced.
| 1972-1976 Engines: |
| 7.5 L V8 |
Designer Editions
For the 1976 model year, Lincoln introduced the Designer Series; special edition Mark IVs with color, trim and interior choices by famous fashion designers. All carried the designer's signature on the opera windows, and had a 22 karat (92%) gold plated plaque on the instrument panel which could be engraved with the original owner's name. The concept was successful, and future Lincolns would continue to offer designer editions.
For 1976, four designer editions were offered:
- The Bill Blass Edition was in dark blue with cream accents. The external finish was dark blue metallic paint, with a cream "Normande Grain" landau vinyl roof, cream and gold pinstriping, and cream or dark blue bodyside moldings. Inside, a blue cloth or leather interior used cream accent straps and buttons.
- The Cartier Edition was in dove grey. The external finish was dove grey paint, with a dove grey "Valino Grain" landau vinyl roof, red and white pinstriping, and dove grey bodyside moldings. The interior was in dove grey cloth or leather.
- The Givenchy Edition was in aqua blue. The external finish was aqua blue "Diamond Fire" paint, with a white "Normande Grain" landau vinyl roof, black and white pinstriping, and white or aqua blue bodyside moldings. The interior was in aqua blue cloth or leather, and the instrument panel was in a special, lighter shade of simulated woodgrain.
- The Pucci Edition was in red and silver. The external finish was dark red "Moondust Finish" paint with a silver "Normande Grain" landau vinyl roof, silver and lipstick red pinstriping and red or silver bodyside moldings. The interior was in dark red "Majestic" cloth.
1977 Continental Mark V
The Lincoln Continental Mark V was sold between the 1977 and 1979 model years. The Mark V replaced that car's more rounded styling with a more sharp-edged look that was then fashionable. The standard engine was now the Ford 400 in³ (6.6 L) small-block engine instead of the 460 in³ (7.5 L) Ford 385 engine, but the latter was available as an option everywhere but in California in the first two years of production.
The Mark V was tested by Germany`s leading car magazine "Auto Motor Und Sport" in 1978 and to this day (2005) holds the record as the least fuel efficient car ever tested by them, averaging no more than 7 mpg and giving only an (extrapolated) 3.5 mpg under full acceleration.
Lincoln, with the Mark V and Continental, held out for the giant American car longer than anyone else, but after 1979 it would not be possible. Ford came dangerously close to violating the Corporate Average Fuel Economy laws that year, and subsequent models would be substantially smaller.
| 1977-1978 Engines: |
| 6.6 L V8 |
| 7.5 L V8 |
1979 Continental Mark VI
Aside from a somewaht significant downsizing, the Lincoln Mark VI only featured minor design revisions from the 1977 Mark V. New headlight covers and steerwheel were added but the car continued to keep the hallmark opera windows, Rolls-Royce style grille and rear tire-hump. The most signifcant change for the Mark VI was that for the first time the Mark was also availabe as a sedan.
| 1979-1983 Engines: |
| 5.0 L V8 |
| 5.8 L V8 |
1984 Mark VII
The Continental Mark VII, later called just the Mark VII, was introduced in 1984. The Continental Mark VII shared its platform with the Ford Thunderbird, Ford Mustang, and Lincoln Continental (the Ford Fox platform from the code name of the first program using the platform. The platform was originally based on the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr in the early 80s. It was manufactured at the Wixom Assembly Plant in Wixom, Michigan through 1992.
The Mark VII had most comfort/convenience options that were available in the 1980's. This included all power accessories, leather seating, keyless entry, an onboard computer/message center, digital instruments (on all except the LSC models after 1986). All Mark VII's came with full airbag suspension with an electronic ride control system
The Mark VII was the first American vehicle with electronic 4-channel antilock brakes (November 1984, 6 months before the Corvette). It was also the first American vehicle with composite headlights.
| 1984-1992 Engines: |
| 5.0 L V8 |
Trim Levels
1984-1987 Contenental Mark VII (Base) 1984-1985 Versace Designer Edition 1984-1992 Bill Blass Designer Edition 1984-1992 LSC (Luxury Sport Coupe) 1990-1992 LSC SE (Monochromatic paint and trim, Black, Garnet Red Metallic, Electric Current Red Metallic and Titanium Metallic)
1992 Mark VIII
The Mark VIII was a large luxurious coupe from Lincoln, sold between 1993 and 1998. The Mark VIII was assembled at Ford's Wixom, Michigan assembly plant and was based on the FN10 platform. The 1995 LSC model got 10 hp (7.5 kW) more, true dual exhaust, lower (3.27) gearing and other luxury features. The 1995 to 1996 LSC models were the first cars from an American automaker to be equipped with HID headlights, and the 1997 to 1998 models continued the groundbreaking lighting trend with even larger housings for the HID system, and an innovative neon third brakelight across the entire rear decklid. Declining sales and prestige led to the cancellation of the Mark VIII in 1998. The Lincoln Mark VIII with its luxurious interior, sleek styling and high-tech DOHC V8 is fast becoming a desirable automobile among car collectors and Lincoln afficionados.
| 1993-1998 Engines: |
| 4.6 L V8, 280 hp (209 kW) 1993-1998 |
| 4.6 L V8, 290 hp (216 kW) 1994-1998 LSC |