1990 Lincoln Mark VII SE: Not Your Uncle Max’s Mark

The 1980 Mark VI took the successful styling cues of the much larger 1977-79 Continental Mark V and adapted it to the new downsized Panther platform. It basically looked like a boxier, Mini Me Mark V. The sedans looked pretty good, but the coupe’s shorter wheelbase did not translate to good proportions.

The all-new 1983 ‘aero’ Thunderbird and Cougar forecast Ford’s new styling direction, The Mark got the same treatment for 1984. The Designer Series and chromed-up standard models were back, but the big news was the LSC.

Intended for the serious driver, it included a 5.0L V8, P215/65R15 Good Year blackwall (gasp!) tires on light alloy wheels, perforated leather bucket seats, fog lamps, black cladding in lieu of chrome trim and a specially tuned version of the air ride suspension. Analog gauges replaced the digital ones used in other Marks. The big news for 1985 was anti-lock brakes, added to the already-capable four wheel discs. In 1986, the 200 hp High Output (HO) version of the 5.0L V8 became standard equipment in the LSC. It would do 0-60 in 8.3 seconds.

The 1990 Mark VII was updated with a new instrument panel and driver’s side airbag. The LSC received attractive new BBS alloys. A new Special Edition package was available on the LSC. Available only in Midnight Black or Garnet Red (Dark Titanium was also available, but rarely seen), it featured special exterior accents. All chrome, save the grille shell and badging, was now monochromatic.

The HO 5.0L was now producing 225 hp and 300 lb ft of torque. Sharing a powertrain with the Mustang GT, the LSC and Bill Blass Mark VIIs were banker’s hot rods for the late ’80s and early ’90s.

You could also get a special sport cloth and leather interior, as the ’90 or ’91 featured here today shows. This replaced the all leather interior that was standard. It was not an SE exclusive though.

I saw this particular car way back in March of 2012, parked in front of a small repair shop. I wasn’t sure if it was a running vehicle, but it moved to a garage about a block away, a week or so after I took these photos. It was in decent shape, though it could have used a buffing out, as the paint was oxidized on the hood, roof and trunk. While it looks like one of the air bags is going out, I wasn’t 100% positive because it was parked on some pretty uneven pavement.

When I was in grade school, my grandparents had a 1987 Continental in rose quartz metallic (much like the ’87 above, only theirs was not a Givenchy), which was basically a four-door Mark VII. Between about 1986 and ’94 my grandmother frequently took me to lunch, and then we would go to Sexton Ford and South Park Lincoln-Mercury to look at the new cars. In fact, the ’92 brochure I used for some of these photos came from one of those trips. I remember these Marks very well.

While the most obvious competition to the Mark VII was the Eldorado, the Mark, although much smaller, didn’t get the serious shrinkage the Eldo got in ’86. The Cadillac wasn’t really a bad car, in fact I’ve driven an ’89 Eldorado and it rode and handled nicely, but I’d take a ’90 Mark VII over a ’90 Eldorado just for the styling alone. Unless we’re talking a triple Cameo Ivory 1990-91 Biarritz…

Other than the rare 1982-85 Eldorado Touring Coupe, there wasn’t really a direct competitor to the LSC model, but the Lincoln was much sportier with its wind-cheating sheetmetal. 1988-91 Eldos were much more attractive than their 1986-87 brethren, though. Cadillac didn’t reintroduce the Touring Coupe until 1990, but the similar albeit four-door Seville Touring Sedan had been around since 1988.

I’ve always liked the Mark VII, especially the SEs. One in the metallic red would be perfect. They just looked tough, and could back it up with the High Output V8. Very different from the opulent Mark IVs and Vs of the ’70s, for sure!

They never made a ton of Mark VIIs. Despite being in production for nine model years, only a little more than 190K were made during a period when Town Cars were selling between 90-100K annually. I rarely see them these days.

The Mark VII was the first Mark that could seriously be called a driver’s car. The styling is pretty timeless, and doesn’t look dated even today.