Rare Rides Icons: The Lincoln Mark Series Cars, Feeling Continental (Part XLII)

We bid a sad farewell to the Mustang-adjacent Mark VII in our last installment. The first Continental Mark to adopt modern styling and disconnect itself from the Mark III of 1968 was also the last of its kind to wear a Continental badge. And as Lincoln sought to clarify its product lineup by separating the Continental sedan and allowing the Mark to stand on its own, the company also attempted to bring in a new, sportier customer. And that customer became the target at which the Mark VIII was aimed.

By the end of the Mark VII’s run in 1992, the outdated model sold a measly 5,732 examples. Throughout its (too long) tenure, the model dropped almost all notions of the increasingly irrelevant Designer Edition models. Bill Blass became the de facto base trim should a customer not want the sportier image of the only other option, LSC. There was little difference between the two by the end as the Blass adopted LSC features and power. Only trim remained to tell them apart.

Ford was well aware in the Eighties how the two-door market (especially at the luxury end) was in flux. There were simply fewer coupe buyers as Americans ran to minivans and the earliest family-friendly SUVs. By the mid-Eighties when the Mark, Cougar, and Thunderbird were on sale with Fox platform underpinnings, Ford began preparations for their successors. 

All three cars would again reside on the same platform by the latter portion of the Eighties and well into the Nineties. In 1984 when the Mark VII was newly on sale, Corporate Program #12 was launched. The idea behind its goal, the new MN12 platform, was to pitch the Cougar and Thunderbird more upmarket and compete with one of the lone bright spots in two-door sales: European marques.

As all domestic manufacturers believed between 1982 and 2010 or so, the European car was more sophisticated, had better performance and handling, and in general a more desirable customer base than a domestic car. The Fox versions of the Mark, Cougar, and Thunderbird were conceived at a time when appealing to the sportier, Euro-angled customer was in its infancy. But by the time MN12 was in development, the fervor at capturing and converting the European intender to a domestic increased considerably.

Since it was the Eighties, one of the most coveted manufacturers that produced the best stuff was BMW. Thus Ford decided Thunderbird and Cougar would compete with two-doors from Bavaria, but at the same price point as they’d always occupied. The Seventies Fox platform just wouldn’t cut it for these new upmarket purposes.

The MN12 project was up and running by 1986 with a dedicated program manager, Tony Kutcha. The important decision to keep the platform rear-drive was made early on, as Ford diverged from GM’s approach of making almost all its passenger cars front-drive from 1985 onward. For performance reasons the MN12 was also developed with an independent rear suspension. Ford felt such a development was required in order for the new coupes to be taken seriously. In those days, the only other domestic rear-drive car with an independent suspension was the Corvette. 

Though the project was already very costly, Ford explored another possibility that could have been an (expensive) game changer moment. Engineers thought it might be a good idea to add all-wheel drive to the MN12, at a time when the only companies doing so for passenger cars were bit players Subaru and Audi. Porsche was contracted to do some feasibility work for AWD, and we can all picture a Thunderbird SC Quattro right about now. But the idea was scrapped, as it was decided the development would be too costly.

The MN12 was finalized with a 113-inch wheelbase, and put into production on the 10th generation Ford Thunderbird and seventh generation Mercury Cougar for the 1989 model year. Both cars were much more aerodynamic and modern looking than the outgoing models. They were a bit shorter overall, but had a generous nine-inch increase in their wheelbase. Losing those massive overhangs was the way to a more sporty looking car. 

It’s reported the Mark VIII variant of the MN12 project was supposed to enter production in 1990. This timeline checks out since it follows Thunderbird and Cougar by a year, which was the methodology for the Mark VII release. But it was a tumultuous time in the design department, and Lincoln was determined to outdo the coupe competition and not screw it up (like the Mark VI). Delays ensued, and the Mark VII was pushed back to a November 1992 introduction date for the ‘93 model year. 

During the delays, Ford’s engineers made “some changes” to the MN12 in order to declare the Mark VIII rode on its own, independent platform. It had been quite some time (1979) since any Mark used its own platform, and in that instance it was only because the Thunderbird had moved to a new platform via downsizing. But the Mark VIII would be different, special.

The “independent” platform was called FN10. It shared the same wheelbase as the MN12, but there were some additional uses of aluminum in the chassis for weight saving purposes. The only other major difference was the placement of the gas tank, which was slightly relocated for Mark VIII usage. Said relocation required a revision to the exhaust routing. And that was all. Underpinnings bolted between these different platform cars perfectly.

Aside from its platform differentiated by small alterations nobody could see, Lincoln’s team had their work cut out for them as they attempted to differentiate the Mark from the Thunderbird and Cougar. Aside from the Mark’s sleek looks, that was largely achieved via mechanical and technological upgrades. Most exciting among them was an all-new and sophisticated V8 engine that was not shared with its lesser siblings or even other company vehicles, initially. We’ll talk about facts, figures, and engines next time.

[Images: Ford]

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