Lincoln Continental Mark IX.
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The illustration above shows what a new large luxury 2 door coupe from Lincoln could look like. Something we will probably never see again.
The first of the “Mark” series was the 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II. It was priced at the equivalent of $112,000 today. There was a Continental Mark III in 1958, Mark IV in 1959, and Mark V in 1960. These were much cheaper than the Mark II and unlike the original, not made by hand. They have all mostly been forgotten since. Especially when Ford decided to relaunch the Mark Coupe series in 1969 with the Mark III. Everything was back on track…
A new Lincoln Mark IV came out in 1972, a redesigned Mark V in 1977, and a smaller one called Mark VI in 1980. One that tried very hard to look like the previous huge generation in a smaller size. Meanwhile, there was a 2 door coupe version of the Continental sedan.
In 1984, the new Lincoln Mark VII was quite a revolution. It was a perfect blend of European luxury car influence on an American car. And a very successful one.
The last hurrah came with the Mark VIII, which actually looked quite futuristic. Maybe even too much so for many Lincoln buyers. 1998 was its last year after a ghastly facelift adding a larger grille for 1997.
Of course, no one knows what Lincoln’s future plans are these days.
A couple of years ago we saw the Star concept. Which was supposed to be a preview of things to come for the luxury brand. Of course, since, Ford has revised their EV plans and even their own 3-row EV will now come out as a Hybrid. Which will probably end up replacing the Explorer. I guess the same might happen to that future Lincoln EV SUV.
While Cadillac is hard at work on 2 new sedans based on the Ultium platform. Lincoln has nothing like this in the works. Especially for the Chinese markets where sedans are still very popular.
Which is too bad. Once again, Lincoln will be behind. Not only behind Cadillac, but behind many other luxury manufacturers. They also seem far behind in China. Where luxury sedans are still very popular. And local car makers are now producing very desirable luxury cars.
How long can Lincoln stay behind before they give up?