Lincoln Continental 1981-1987

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Lincoln Continental #1

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Lincoln Continental #2

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The Lincoln Continental is a series of mid-sized and full-sized luxury cars produced by Lincoln, a division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. The model line was introduced following the construction of a personal vehicle for Edsel Ford, who commissioned a coachbuilt 1939 Lincoln-Zephyr convertible, developed as a vacation vehicle to attract potential Lincoln buyers. In what would give the model line its name, the exterior was given European "continental" styling elements, including a rear-mounted spare tire.

In production for over 55 years across nine different decades, Lincoln has produced ten generations of the Continental. Within the Lincoln model line, the Continental has served several roles ranging from its flagship to its base-trim sedan. From 1961 to 1976, Lincoln sold the Continental as its exclusive model line. The model line has also gone on hiatus three times. From 1949 to 1955, the nameplate was briefly retired. In 1981, the Continental was renamed the Lincoln Town Car to accommodate the 1982 seventh-generation Continental. After 2002, the Continental was retired, largely replaced by the Lincoln MKS in 2009; in 2017, the tenth-generation Continental replaced the MKS.

As part of its entry into full-scale production, the first-generation Continental was the progenitor of an entirely new automotive segment, the personal luxury car. Following World War II, the segment evolved into coupes and convertibles larger than sports cars and grand touring cars with an emphasis on features, styling, and comfort over performance and handling. From 1956 to 1957, the Continental nameplate was the namesake of the short-lived Continental Division, marketing the 1956–1957 Continental Mark II as the worldwide flagship of Ford Motor Company; as a second successor, Ford introduced the Continental Mark series in 1969, produced over six generations to 1998.

Along with the creation of the personal luxury car segment, the Lincoln Continental marked the zenith of several designs in American automotive history. The Continental is the final American vehicle line with a factory-produced V12 engine (1948), the final four-door convertible (1967), and the final model line to undergo downsizing (for the 1980 model year).

Production of the Continental and MKZ, its only two sedans, ended in 2020 thereby making Lincoln a crossover/SUV-only brand.

MY 1982-1987
Following the downsizing and adoption of the Panther platform for the 1980 model year, the Lincoln division was faced with a critical issue. After the discontinuation of the compact Lincoln Versailles early in 1980, Lincoln was left with two full-size sedans. Although each was brand-new for the model year, the Lincoln Continental and Continental Mark VI were functionally identical vehicles. Aside from the "Continental tire" trunklid, unique rear quarter panels, different taillamps and hidden headlamps of the Mark VI, the two vehicles offered little differentiation.

The Continental made its return in early 1981 as a 1982 model. To further separate Continental from the Town Car, Lincoln designers shifted the Continental nameplate into the mid-size segment. Only offered as a four-door sedan, the Continental was styled with a "bustle-back" rear end and marketed to compete directly with the Cadillac Seville and the Imperial. Using the lessons learned from Lincoln Versailles and badge engineering, Lincoln stylists took great care to differentiate the expensive Continental from the Ford Granada and Mercury Cougar sedans sharing the Ford Fox platform with it; unlike the Versailles, no visible body panels were shared. The Continental shared its wheelbase and powertrain with the Continental Mark VII introduced for the 1984 model year.

Beginning with the 1981 model year, all manufacturers were required to use a 17 character VIN-code. The first three digits are the World Manufacturer Identifier which gives the make of the car. 1982–1985 Continental 4-door sedans have the separate VIN-code 1MR which designates Continental as the make instead of 1LN as Lincoln (as is the Town Car). Although the VIN designated Continental as the make, all Continentals carried Lincoln badging on the right side of the decklid.

In 1986, the situation was clarified by Ford Motor Company as the Continental was reassigned the 1LN VIN-code to designate Lincoln as the make.

Chassis
Shifting from the Ford Panther platform to the Ford Fox platform, the Continental became a mid-size car for the first time. In its redesign, the Continental would lose nearly 9 inches in wheelbase and 18 inches in length, along with over 400 pounds of weight. Although it would be the shortest-wheelbase Lincoln ever (at the time), the Continental would use a stretched 108.5" wheelbase version of the Fox platform used by the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar. In marked contrast to its Cadillac Seville competitor, which switched to a front-wheel drive GM platform, the Continental retained the use of rear-wheel drive.

The 1982 Continental was fitted with two different engines. The standard engine was a 131 hp carbureted version of the 5.0L V8. At no cost, a 3.8L V6 (shared with the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar) was an option; it was the first non-V8 Lincoln since 1948. Both engines were discontinued for the 1983 model year, replaced by the fuel-injected 5.0L V8 from the Town Car. All three engines were fitted with the 4-speed Ford AOD overdrive transmission. As a response to the diesel engine options available in Cadillacs and a number of European luxury brands, Lincoln introduced an optional 114-hp 2.4L turbodiesel inline-6 sourced from BMW (with a ZF 4-speed automatic transmission) for 1984. With only 1,500 sold, the diesel-powered Continental was rarely ordered and discontinued after the 1985 model year. The seventh-generation introduced two features as industry firsts: gas-charged shock absorbers and self-sealing tires.

Source: Wikipedia

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Body
For the first time on a Lincoln-badged Continental, its namesake "Continental spare tire trunk" seen on the Mark Series was used as a decklid design feature. In addition, the decklid was lettered "CONTINENTAL" instead of "LINCOLN" (as was the Versailles, the first Lincoln to do so). As Ford Motor Company intended for the Continental to compete against the Cadillac Seville, the rear half of the car was designed with a sloping "bustle-back" decklid, drawing inspiration from the Lincoln-Zephyr of the late 1930s. The decklid design of the Continental proved less extreme than that of the Seville. The addition of a horizontal brushed-chrome strip that ran along each side of Continental, along with plentiful two-tone color combinations, gave it a more conventional appearance in comparison to the Cadillac.

Coinciding with the introduction of the two-door Continental Mark VII, the Continental was given a styling update for the 1984 model year. The body was fitted with flush-fitting front and rear bumpers and revised taillamps. While not fitted with the composite headlights of the Mark VII, the front fascia of the Continental was revised with an angled grille flanked by recessed quad headlamps and larger wrap-around marker lights incorporating cornering lamps, which made it more aerodynamic looking. On the inside, the doors and dashboard were fitted with satin-black trim (accented with low-gloss genuine walnut veneer for the 1986 model year only). Other changes through the rest of the production run were primarily limited to paint colors and upholstery pattern details. The car continued thereafter with few changes. All models were also fitted with Ford's door-mounted Keyless Entry System, not to be confused with a Remote Keyless Entry System.

Trim
For 1982, the Continental was offered in base trim, Signature Series, and Givenchy Designer Series trim. Givenchy was offered for all 6 years. For 1983, the Signature Series trim was absorbed by the base or standard model. The Signature Series trim was given to the Town Car and Mark VI instead; the Valentino Designer Series was added for 1983-1985 as a second Designer Series choice. After the 1985 model year, the Valentino Designer Series was discontinued in favor of the Givenchy Series as the sole Designer Series offering. The last two years, 1986 and 1987, choices paired down to just 2 trims: base and Givenchy. Including many additional standard features, the Signature Series, Valentino, and Givenchy Designer Series Continentals added $3,100 (equivalent to $8,700 in 2021) to $3,500 (equivalent to $9,800 in 2021) to the price of a standard model. Fully optioned Signature and Givenchy models would top out at over $26,500 (equivalent to $74,400 in 2021).

Source: Wikipedia