Lincoln Mark series is a series of personal luxury cars that was produced by Ford Motor Company. The nomenclature came into use with the Continental Mark II for 1956, which was a successor to the Lincoln Continental of 1939–1948. Following a hiatus, the Lincoln-Mercury Division relaunched the Continental Mark series during 1968. Not branded as a Lincoln, this new model was branded only as the Continental Mark III to suggest continuity with the flagship 1956–1957 Continental Mark II rather than the less-successful 1958–1960 models. The reborn Mark series went on to produce six successive generations through the 1998 model year.
Lincoln Mark Series Generations
First Generation
From the 1956 model year, Ford Motor Company and its Lincoln division introduced the first-generation Continental Lincoln Mark II as the inaugural offering of their new flagship Continental Division. A two-door personal luxury car, the Mark II was developed as the successor model line for the 1939–1948 Lincoln Continental. Largely hand-assembled, the $10,000 (US$115,655 in 2024 dollars) model line was the most expensive American vehicle sold in 1956, competing against Chrysler’s new for 1955 Imperial top marque.
Second Generation
The second generation of the car was released in April 1968 as an early 1969 model. The Continental Lincoln Mark III was developed by Ford as its first flagship personal luxury vehicle since the discontinuation of the Mark II. Intended as a direct competitor for the Cadillac Eldorado, the introduction of the Mark III launched a brand rivalry that would last for the next three decades.
Third Generation
In 1972, the third-generation Continental Lincoln Mark III was replaced by the all-new Continental Mark IV. In response to the success of the Mark III, the model line was again developed alongside the Ford Thunderbird, with the two coupes sharing a common roofline and inner body stampings (the Mark IV was styled with its own bodywork below the windows).
Fourth Generation
In 1977, Ford released the fourth-generation Continental Lincoln Mark V as the next-generation Mark Series coupe. While the Ford Thunderbird was shifted to the Ford Torino intermediate chassis, the Mark V was a substantial redesign of the previous-generation Mark IV. At 230 inches long, the personal luxury coupe was only 3 inches shorter than the standard Lincoln Continental; however, careful engineering reduced the weight of the car by over 400 pounds, which was good for fuel efficiency.
Fifth Generation
In 1980, Ford released the fifth-generation Continental Lincoln Mark VI. It was much smaller, receiving its first complete redesign since 1972. The redesign began life as a mid-size line and moved to the full-size Panther chassis during its development. Originally intended to become a full range of body styles, the Mark VI replaced the Mark V as a two-door and four-door sedan, adopting a fixed B-pillar and fully framed door glass. Shorter and lighter than both the 1956 Mark II and the 1939 Lincoln Continental, the new model line shed 14 inches in length and 800 pounds from its Mark V predecessor.
Sixth Generation
In 1984, the Mark VII was introduced, downsized a second time, adopting the mid-size Ford Fox platform to match the size of its Cadillac Eldorado rival. This was the sixth-generation of the Continental Lincoln Mark Series. In a nearly complete break from its predecessors, the Mark VII was developed with far better road manners than its Mark VI predecessor; though not a grand tourer, the driving experience was prioritized as part of a personal luxury car for the 1980s.
Seventh Generation
In 1993, the Lincoln Mark VIII was released as the first generation of the Mark series entirely under the Lincoln brand. It was the seventh and final generation of the car. Serving as a successor to the Mark VII LSC, the slightly larger Mark VIII was a luxury-oriented grand touring coupe. While maintaining its rivalry against the Cadillac Eldorado, the Mark VIII was also developed as competition for coupes from European and Japanese automakers, including the Acura Legend and Lexus SC.
Conclusion
The Lincoln Mark Series served as the flagship vehicle of Ford Motor Company for its entire production. The Mark series, beginning with the Mark III, continued the use of the Continental name, similar to how the Continental name was positioned above Lincoln before its discontinuation in July 1956. All Continental Mark series models were marketed and serviced by Lincoln-Mercury. To eliminate the branding confusion, the Mark series dropped Continental branding and adopted the Lincoln name from the 1986 model year onward.
