Saturday 17th December 1983

The Ford Continental Mark VII introduced. It was available in a base trim level, Designer Edition (Bill Blass Edition and Versace Edition). A new sport-oriented upper trim level was introduced with this generation, called the LSC (Luxury Sports Coupe). Alongside the standard 140 hp 5.0L V8 shared with the Ford Mustang is a 114 hp 2.4L turbocharged diesel inline-6 obtained from BMW to offer a more fuel efficient engine offering; all Mark VIIs came with a 4-speed automatic transmission. It had a lengthy standard equipment list, including an onboard trip computer / message centre and digital instruments (on all except the LSC models after 1986). Mark VII’s also came with full air suspension at all four wheels. The Mark VII also had the distinction of being the first American vehicle since 1940 with composite headlights and it was the first of the Lincoln Mark models to have exposed headlights since 1968, and the introduction of the Lincoln Continental Mark III coupe.