The Lincoln Mark VII Is How Detroit Did Performance Luxury in the ’80s
Always in the shadows of contemporary BMWs and Benzes, the 1984–92 Mark VII deserves more respect.
A few years ago, Ford Motor Company was deluged by demands from sports-car fans that it give its ailing Lincoln division a performance model based on the bones of the Mustang. Lincoln needed, they reasoned, to boost the fun quotient in an otherwise boring showroom.
What many of those calling for a Stang-sourced two-door might not have realized is that Lincoln had already done exactly that roughly 35 years prior. Watching a bevy of sporty European luxury models flood the market and convinced that its premium land-barge strategy wasn't going to carry the day in the 1980s, Lincoln introduced the Continental Mark VII, a Fox-platform force to be reckoned with for enthusiasts seeking their fix from a premium domestic product.
