2004 Lincoln Mark X Prototype Convertible Heading To Auction

Automakers reveal concept cars quite frequently, but oftentimes, those models don’t wind up coming to fruition. Instead, they languish away in storage, wind up being crushed, or perhaps even shown off in a museum. Every so often, however, concept cars end up making it into public hands, which is currently the case with the 2002 Ford Supercharged Thunderbird Concept, as Ford Authority reported yesterday. Now, yet another concept is heading to auction – the 2004 Lincoln Mark X prototype convertible, which is set to be sold at Mecum’s upcoming Glendale, Arizona auction taking place in March.

The 2004 Lincoln Mark X prototype convertible project was spearheaded by at-the-time Lincoln chief of design Marek Reichman under the premise of a simple question – what if Lincoln offered its own version of the Ford Thunderbird from that era? From there, the team incorporated both retro and modern Lincoln design concepts into the Mark X, which utilizes the same engine as the T-Bird to boot – the 3.9L V8, which in this guise generated 280 horsepower and is mated to a five-speed automatic transmission.

When the Lincoln Mark X concept debuted at the 2004 Detroit Auto Show, it was well-received by both the press and the public, and given the fact that the T-Bird of that generation was in its third model year of production at the time, seemed promising in terms of becoming a viable production vehicle.

However, Lincoln brass later determined that the Mark X was a bit too niche to make a business case of it, which wasn’t helped by slowing Thunderbird sales. Thus, it never came to fruition, but one lucky person will get to bid on the concept and potentially bring it home in a few weeks. Unfortunately, even though it runs and drives, the Mark X isn’t road legal, meaning that it’s probably best suited for display purposes.

We’ll have more cool concepts to share soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Lincoln news and comprehensive Ford news coverage.