1941 - 1998 Lincoln Continental Mark series
1941
Designed by Edsel Ford in 1938, this car was widely recognised as one of the finest designs of the time.
1956
Another style leader, this car was assembled with the finest materials available at the time. Unfortunately, its outrageous price meant that few were sold (this car went for $10,000 in 1956!)
An interesting note is that this vehicle was not built by the Lincoln division, but rather
the Continental division. It is the only model that the Continental division ever sold.
1968
This car's 460ci V8 powered its 4700lb to 60mph in 8.3 seconds, making it a true high
powered land yacht. It started at $6585, making it a relative bargain, too
1972
This was the best year ever for Lincoln sales-wise, beating out the FWD Caddy Eldorado by a
long shot. The trademark opera window appeared, and the price jumped to $9910.
1977
The Mark got downsized a bit here like its T-Bird brother, but got a bit fancier at the
same time. Shark gills appeared on the front fenders, and in the designer series, each designer's signature appeared in the opera windows.
1980
The mark moved onto the Panther chassis in '80, growing smaller and lighter. Boxy styling, combined with a pseudo oil crisis, meant that this Mark
received a subdued welcome. in '82, the Continental was separated from the Mark line and moved onto the Fox chassis.
1984
The L-M division got serious with this baby. They moved it onto the Fox platform along with
the previous model year T-Bird/Cougar, but the Mark was actually designed before either of those
two cars. Featuring aero-styling, airbag suspension, and a host of electronic gadgets this Mark was like no others that
preceded it. Power came from a choice of two engines - the venerable 130-horse 5.0 CFI and a BMW-built 2.4
litre Turbodeisel inline 6. The vast majority were sold with the 5.0 (I personally have never seen a turbo
diesel model, but apparently they do exist). Two suspension choices were offered as well: the base suspension,
designed to keep present Lincoln customers happy, and the LSC package, which featured stiffer
calibrated air springs, thicker anti-roll bars, and heavy duty shocks. This package was offered to
attract customers who may be considering a BMW or Mercedes. The car fell short in the power
department, though, so Ford increased the power output of the 5.0 steadily until it topped out at 225 in 1988, the same rating as the Mustang 5.0. Anti-lock brakes were available in '85. It should be
noted that the 1984 Mark VII was the first North American car to use flush-mounted, Euro-style
headlamps with replaceable bulbs. These type of headlamps were not yet legal at the time this car was
designed, so to play it safe, Lincoln built prototypes of this car with and without 'em.
Luckily, the US government made them legal in time for production.
In 1982, the Mark and the Continental had become two different cars. The Conny was Fox based in '82and took on 4 doors and had odd rear styling. In '89, the Continental moved over to a stretched Taurus platform, with the 3.8 SEFI V6 being the only available engine. For '95, the Continental got another redesign. Still based on the Taurus (also redesigned), it
received a detuned version of the Mark VIII's 4.6 DOHC V8 (called the Intech), producing 260 horsepower.
1993
A total redesign happened in '93. The Mark moved over to share the MN-12 platform with the T-Bird
and Cougar, but it retained its airbag suspension (this time with 4-wheel
independent suspension). The big news came from under the hood though, where there sat an all-new 280-horse 4.6
litre DOHCV8. This engine featured aluminum block and heads, and used 6 bolts to retain each main
bearing cap (4 from underneath, and two coming in from the side). It also featured a dual air induction system, meaning that at low speeds, half the intake runners were closed allowing for better low-end
torque, but at high RPM, the plenum opened up to allow high-rpm breathing.
Perhaps one of the most interesting feature of this car was the automatic lowering feature. At 55
MPH, the whole car would lower by approximately 1 inch, helping high-speed cornering and also
reducing wind drag.
Sadly, with the demise of the T-Bird/Cougar in 1997, the Mark could stay around no longer. It
was dropped from the line-up after the '98 model year.
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