Video: Introducing the 1980 Lincoln Continental Mark VI

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Meet the 1980 Continental Mark VI, including a surprising addition to the Mark product line that year: a four-door sedan.

 

We admit it. We have a soft spot for retro-flavored auto marketing campaigns. While the history-and-heritage sales pitch was eventually beaten to death by the Detroit carmakers, the angle was still fairly fresh when this 1980 Lincoln clip was produced. So we enjoyed the opening bit, which features a 1940 Continental and a 1957 Continental Mark II (don’t call it a Lincoln; Continental was then briefly a separate division) before homing in on the new product: the 1980 Continental Mark VI.

We can safely guess that for many Continental Mark buyers and their big-car tastes, the fifth-generation Mark VI of 1980-83 probably felt like a demotion from the Mark IV (1972-76) and Mark V (1977-79). Built on the Ford corporate Panther platform, this new Mark was 14 inches shorter and 800 lbs lighter than the battleship-class Marks IV and V, and meanwhile the massive 460 CID V8 was replaced by a pair of small-block V8s of 302 and 351 CID. The base 302 was rated at all of 135 horsepower.

Still, the Mark VI’s cabin was just as luxurious as in previous models, if not quite as cavernous, while a full roster of Designer Editions was continued (Pucci Edition shown above) and there was a flagship Signature Series, too. Despite the downsizing, the Mark VI was considerably more imposing than the pricey yet unpopular Lincoln Versailles (see our Versailles feature here). As the Versailles was pushed out the door, the big news for ’80 included the addition of a four-door sedan to the Mark series, complete with opera windows and spare tire bump. A little surprisingly, the two-door and four-door Mark VI sold in nearly equal numbers, each accounting for around half of the total volume of nearly 37,000 cars in 1980. Video below.

 

5 thoughts on “Video: Introducing the 1980 Lincoln Continental Mark VI”

  1. My mom had one and loved it. They were very nice cars but they do dwell in the shadow of the mark IV/Mark V.

  2. They had 4-door Marks III – V in 1958-60.
    I’m skeptical about this 4-door Mark VI capturing the “essence” of the “motoring expression” found in those bad boys. No tire humps on ’em, tho.

    • We intend to do a piece soon on the “misplaced” Mark III, IV, and V of 1958-60. It was interesting how Ford simply did a reset with the 1969 Mark III.

  3. The 1980 Lincoln Continental Mark VI are not only expensive but hard to find only if they come up for sale. The Designer series are not only sought after but far and few to find today.

  4. Steven Pierce November4, 2022 at 6:13am. All of the Marks were beautiful designed cars and in my opinion they should bring them back for those who ❤️ the sleek beauty of pure class. I bought my first car when I was 19 and it was a Cartier midnight blue Mark V. I would cruise to the Circle Star to see AL Green and from there head up to Tahoe or Reno after midnight alone with my 8 track and a piece of mind. I tell you where ever I would pull up all eyes were on that car. It made me feel respected and it taught me to respect everyone who respected a beautiful American made vehicle. She was a beautiful car.

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