The Weirdest Fox Body Ever: 1984 Continental Mark VII
We’ve seen the Fox platform at its best and its worst, now it’s time for the utterly bizarre: introducing the 1984 Continental Mark VII!
The early 1980s was nothing if not a tumultuous period for US automakers. With two oil crises impacting global gas prices, manufacturers struggled to adapt to ever-fluctuating emissions regulations and customer demand. And Ford was no exception, with the Fox platform being developed as a direct result of this time period. It was smaller, more aerodynamic, and more modular than its predecessors. Ford utilized this platform across all the usual suspects, including the now-defunct Continental division of Lincoln. A name originally synonymous with ultra-luxury, and which ultimately ended with this car: the Continental Mark VII.
The Continental Mark VII, at its heart, is essentially a luxury Mustang. The Mustang nameplate already featured luxury options, such as the Mustang Ghia or the older Mustang Grande. The Continental, on the other hand, was essentially a Mustang body emulating the style and comfort of a 1970s Cadillac. It sported copious chrome trim, a false spare tire hump in the trunk, and plump leather-bound interior upholstery. This was, without a doubt, the most luxurious Mustang one could feasibly order. And likewise, easily the most bizarre. Because, unlike most Mustangs which had a four-cylinder or V8, the early Continental Mark VII touted… a BMW straight-six turbo diesel?
The Elephant in the Engine Bay
So… why on Earth is a Continental powered by a 2.4L BMW straight-six turbo diesel, of all things? Well, the story of Ford’s cooperation with BMW goes back decades, specifically relating to motorsport. In fact, Ford takes partial credit for the creation of BMW’s M-division, but that’s an entirely different story. Long story short, emissions regulations choked most American engines to some truly remarkable power figures. Turbo diesels, meanwhile, were largely more economical than the big naturally-aspirated V8 counterparts, and thus were less directly impacted. Companies like GM also took advantage of this, fitting diesels since the 1970s to similar luxury cars like the big Cadillac de Ville.
Ford had no such indigenous diesel program, and so cashed in on their relationship with BMW. European diesel engine popularity exploded during this time for similar reasons. BMW developed this specific engine, codename M21, as a diesel conversion of their standard M20. Basically, it’s the engine fitted to all the late 1970s and 1980s BMW sedans.
Ford dropped the engine into the Continental largely unchanged. It sported a Garrett T03 turbocharger, producing a rather lethargic 115 horsepower at 4800 RPM. But a somewhat decent torque load, 155 lb/ft, enough to at least get all 3750 pounds of Continental up to a comfortable cruising speed. In its own time, of course.
Continental only sold roughly 2500 so-equipped Mark VIIs, making the diesel variant one of the rarest Fox bodies out there. Such vehicles still show up from time to time on Bring A Trailer, valued more for their novelty and weirdness than anything. Other straight-six Fox platforms existed, of course, such as the Ford Granada, which utilized the Thriftpower. The Continental, meanwhile, was easily the heaviest and least-popular of the Fox lineup, and so became perfect for fitting with all sorts of weird tech, like this bizarre choice of powerplant.
Other Notable Quirks
Besides the obvious, the 1984 Continental Mark VII also boasted a number of impressively weird features. It was the first Ford to feature four-wheel ABS, it had an all-digital instrument cluster, self-adjusting air suspension, an on-board trip computer that calculated the time to your destination based on your current speed, and a ton more. Everything from a coded keyless entry and automatic climate control to a self-closing trunk latch.
The sheer amount of random, and frankly bizarrely interesting archaic technology incorporated into this machine easily elevates it above and beyond any regular Mustang’s options list. With a tuned 5.0L and 5-speed conversion (all of them feature a 4-speed OD automatic), the Mark VII can truly become the greatest of both worlds. But, fresh from the factory? This car represents the undisputed pinnacle of absolute weirdness ever jammed into a Fox-platform automobile. Arguably, it’s one of the weirdest regular production passenger cars to wear a Ford-derived badge, full-stop. And this is the timeline in which the Ford Probe exists.
The Continental Mark VII only lasted for two years before dropping the Continental name, becoming the Lincoln Mark VII for 1986. And with that, Ford also dropped the diesel option, perhaps unsurprisingly given the pitiful sales figures. 1985 became the very last year in which any vehicle wore the badge “Continental” without “Lincoln” to accompany it. A name change officially done to avoid confusion between brands. However, it also signaled the end of an era for Ford. And the Continental (and subsequently Lincoln) Mark VII became Ford’s last old-school personal luxury car. The successor Mark VIII marked a total departure in terms of body style, based instead on the late-80s FN10 Thunderbird platform. As for Lincoln, the company chose to focus more on the Town Car, which soared in popularity primarily due to fleet sales.
And so, Continental ended its life in extraordinary fashion. With an incredibly bizarre amalgamation of a Mustang and a turbo diesel (?) late-70s BMW 3-series, plus an interior combining all the weirdest features in sort of a swan song of 1980s chic. The 1984 Continental Mark VII. What a truly, remarkably interesting and weird automobile.
Images by Ford Media Center and the Ford Heritage Vault
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