The Lincoln Mark series is a 2-door coupe / 4-door sedan (1958–1960, 1980–1983) / 2-door convertible (1958–1960) from Lincoln, built from 1956 to 1998, at the height of the post-war boom.
The story
The Continental Mark series (later renamed Lincoln Mark series) is a series of personal luxury cars that was produced by Ford Motor Company from 1956 to 1960 and from the 1969 to 1998 model years. Serving as the flagship vehicle for Ford Motor Company, the model line derived its heritage from the 1940–1948 Lincoln Continental, a model line that established the personal luxury car segment. The Mark series was inaugurated with the 1956–1957 Continental Mark II, which was the first (and only) product line of the Continental Division, which was introduced to provide Ford Motor Company a luxury car brand slotted above Lincoln (with the Mark II serving as the most expensive car sold in the United States). Produced for approximately a year, the hand-built Mark II lent several design elements that would be adopted for the rest of the model line: a two-door coupe design (with few exceptions), a continental tire trunklid design (derived from the spare tire mounting of the 1940s Lincoln Continental), and a four-point star emblem; in revised form, the emblem remains in use by Lincoln today.
Following the retirement of the Continental Division, the Mark series became the flagship Lincoln (but not branded as such) from 1958 to 1960. After a hiatus from 1961 to 1968, the series was restarted again, becoming the Continental Mark III for 1969, serving in a similar role (though far less expensive) than the previous Mark II. Instead of competing against Rolls-Royce, the Mark III commenced a flagship brand rivalry with the Cadillac Eldorado. The new design adopted a similar configuration a
Under the skin
The record carries the shape — a 2-door coupe / 4-door sedan (1958–1960, 1980–1983) / 2-door convertible (1958–1960) — and the layout: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.
Its place in the line
Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Lincoln Continental (1940–1948); its successor was the Lincoln LS. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Nissan Skyline, the Fiat 500, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Lincoln catalogue sit the Lincoln First Call and the Lincoln Funeral Car.
What it costs now
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Lincoln Mark series has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.