Released for the 1993 model year, and boasting an ambitiously long list of advanced features and creature comforts, the Lincoln Mark VIII was truly underappreciated in its day.
That perhaps became most clear in retrospect when, after just six brief years on the market, the Lincoln Mark VIII was pulled due to low demand.
But that’s not for a lack of trying; the Lincoln Mark VIII came equipped with a truly rich featureset, including a computer-controlled air suspension system which could lower the car automatically at high speed to optimize aerodynamics, and an all-aluminum, 32-valve V8 displacing 4.6-liters and producing 280 horsepower – some thirty percent more than the Ford Mustang of the time. Despite the luxury car’s unibody construction and concurrently high curb weight of 3,750 pounds, that was enough to jettison the Lincoln Mark VIII to 60 mph from a standstill in just 6.6 seconds.
Sadly, all this wasn’t enough to spare the Lincoln Mark VIII from an early grave, and its retirement meant the end of the line for Lincoln’s Continental model and its “Mark”-badged evolutions. That is, until 2017, when a new, front- or all-wheel drive Lincoln Continental will be launched to pick up where the V8-powered luxury brute left off.
Be sure to watch Motor Week‘s “Retro Review” of the 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII above for the full rundown.
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