Lincoln Continental Mark VI
Continental Mark VI Signature Series Sedan (1980 )
The Continental Mark VI is a luxury car that was produced by the American car manufacturer Ford Motor Company from 1980 to 1983 and distributed by the Lincoln - Mercury Division. He was the fourth generation of 1968, the Continental Mark III reasoned series of luxury models, which is called the Mark Series and was positioned above the Lincoln models. The Mark VI was the only model of the Mark Series, which was not only offered as a coupe, but also as a sedan. It was technically closely related to the contemporary Lincoln Continental and differed from it by smaller body retouching and by a significantly upgraded equipment.
Nomenclature
Manufacturer of the Continental Mark VI was the Lincoln - Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company. The Mark VI was officially marketed as Continental Mark VI As with the predecessors Mark III, Mark IV and Mark V. This Ford followed up on this model with the tradition of Continental Division, which from 1956 to 1960 was an independent subsidiary, and premium luxury vehicles produced. The reference to the Continental Division was for marketing reasons in order to document the exclusivity of the Mark VI.
Leads to confusion exists in so far as the term Ford Continental ( without the " Mark " ) additionally used as a pure model name for the Lincoln model since 1961. These vehicles were positioned below the Continental Mark series, received the Lincoln brand name and were called Lincoln Continental. The Mark VI was from the Continental Mark Series is the only model, which had similarities with the Lincoln Continental models from a technical perspective.
Model history
As a result of the Second oil crisis, Ford Motor Company was just like their competitors forced to shape their future economic models, that is, to reduce dimensions and weight especially. Lincoln's standard models, the Lincoln Continental Sedan and the Lincoln Continental coupe completed this step as the last models of the " full-size class " end of 1979. Were based on the introduced in model year 1978 Panther platform of the Ford group, which previously for the reduced models Ford LTD and Mercury Marquis had been used.
At the same time the necessary redesign of Mark model offered - unlike the previous series - recourse to the technique of Ford Thunderbird not to: The Thunderbird of the Box -Bird - generation was redesigned in turn to the model year 1980 and now used the so-called Fox platform of the Ford Fairmont. As a result of this downsizing the Thunderbird was only 5 feet long and was according to American standards already in the compact class. To prove the upper class membership of the Mark models, larger exterior dimensions were required regardless of downsizing required here. Therefore, the Mark VI as well as the contemporary Lincoln Continental built on the current Panther platform. Through this conceptual approach of the Mark VI has a special status in the history of the series; later series took this conceptual approach does not back up. Standalone was the decision to offer the Mark VI as a coupe and as a sedan.
By resorting to the Panther platform of the Mark VI was significantly smaller than its predecessor. Compared to the Mark V, the length shortened by 450 mm; at the same time, the new models were lighter by up to 400 kg.
In terms of design, the Mark VI with the Lincoln Continental was identical. Both models shared not only the technology but also the most body parts. A significant difference was, however, the wheelbase of the coupes: While the Mark VI coupe was based on a compared to the Mark VI four-door car by 76 mm shorter wheelbase, which corresponded to the two-door versions of the Ford LTD, built the (only in small numbers sold ) Lincoln Continental Coupe on on the longer wheelbase of the sedan.
Externally the Mark VI and the Lincoln Continental distinguished primarily by the design of the front end; in addition, there were other, mostly lying in the field of cosmetic styling differences. During the Continental used two open-ended twin headlights, the round headlights of the Mark VI were hidden at rest behind a body-colored metal cover. In addition, the radiator grille of the Mark VI was designed slightly differently. Another distinguishing feature of the Mark VI were stylized, that is non-functional air vents in the front fenders. The roof section of the Mark VI was usually covered with vinyl and designed in the style of a convertible roof; Some embodiments have an oval here, Opera Window window called the C-pillar. Finally, this version of the Mark VI used a stylized spare tire cover on the trunk lid.
The Mark VI used as a drive source further V8 engines, but the engine capacity over previous models had been significantly reduced. Initially were eight-cylinder engines with displacements of 4.9 or 5.8 liters available; the range of services and ranged from 131-142 hp. From model year 1981, the larger engine accounted for; at the same time the performance of the 4.9 -liter engine increased to 147 hp. The power transfer was carried out by a new four-speed automatic, which is acted basically a conventional three-speed automatic, which an extra-long fourth gear with a ratio of 0.67: 1 was added.
Lincoln followed the long-standing established concept of special and designer editions, also in this series. In addition to the basic models, there was a Signature Series, which had a much more extensive standard equipment. The designer editions were used for further customization of the vehicles. This exclusive combination of paint and interiors were offered that were recognizable cut, despite the fact that many European designers hergaben their names for this purpose to the American taste. Over the years there have been versions of Cartier, Emilio Pucci, Bill Blass and Hubert de Givenchy. The assortment of color patterns changed from year to year.
The Mark VI models were among the most expensive American cars. The Mark VI coupe was offered in 1980 in its basic version for $ 16,300 ( $ 3,000 more than the technically identical Continental Coupe). Equipped as a Signature Series, the car cost $ 21,900; the models of the Designer Series were again more expensive. For comparison, a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham coupe cost $ 15,300 at the same time. The Ford Fairmont, the most successful car of the year 1980, was offered for about a third of that price.
From Continental Mark VI approximately 134,000 copies were manufactured in four years, of which about 69,000 four-door.