While anointed the ‘Continental,’ today’s Nice Price or no Dice Lincoln is as squarely middle-American as it can be. It’s also incredibly low-mileage and in amazing condition, so let’s see if it’s worth a bankroll of U.S. greenbacks.
In Greek mythology, Scylla is one of the most horrific of monstrous creatures. Featuring a serpent’s body, a human woman’s head, and six hound heads at the waist, the monster was known to eat sailors who ventured too close to its cave. Mentioned throughout Greek legends and stories (Odysseus had a particularly eventful encounter with it), Scylla was a known and feared commodity.
In modern times, we know that such monsters don’t exist to haunt our dreams and eat our brethren. Instead, we have the infamous IMS (Intermediate Shaft) bearing and bore scoring of Porsche’s M96 flat-six engine to vex our sleep and keep us from enjoying cars like the 1997 Boxster we looked at last Friday. No mention of an IMS update was made in the ad, but at $6,950, it seemed like a potential monster many of you might be willing to face. An 82% ‘Nice Price’ win told us so.
It’s complicated
Before we get into the meat and potatoes of today’s 1985 Lincoln Continental Valentino edition, we need to have a quick recap of the Continental nameplate’s history, because it’s a bit of a mess. First appended to a one-off custom version of the Lincoln Zephyr built for Edsel Ford, the Continental name reflected the car’s clean, European-inspired styling. A production version soon followed. That initial model was branded as a Lincoln Continental; however, in the 1950s, Ford split the Continental off as its own brand, offering the Mark II as a hand-built custom coupe. Over the next half-decade or so, the Continental brand was brought more in line with Lincoln on both bodywork and price points, eventually leading to the marques being reunited in 1961.
The Continental nameplate continued through the swingin’ ’70s as Lincoln’s top car, but was sidelined in the early 1980s when the Town Car name took its place on the big cars, as the Continental was demoted to a mid-sized model. This saw the badge move from the Panther-based big car platform to the mid-size Fox body, shared with the Mark VII and darn-near everything else Ford was building at the time.
A fox in the henhouse
While this Continental is Fox body-based, it’s a heck of a lot more than just a fancy-pants Fairmont. Ford went to great pains to make the 1980s Continental feel more luxurious than its low-cost siblings, massaging the suspension and brakes, and giving the car its own, unique styling, including the de rigueur faux spare tire hump on the trunk lid.
That styling features a bustle back, a style popular with American designers at the time, and also seen on the Cadillac Seville and Chrysler Imperial. The Lincoln version is the most muted of the three, and featured way-better balance than the Seville’s Quasimodo-like appearance.
Like many Continentals of this era, this car features two-tone paint separated by a thin chrome bodyline. Brightwork also features prominently on the window surrounds, bumpers, and Rolls-Royce-esque grille. That all looks to be in great condition, something not unexpected given this car’s remarkably low 28,000 original miles.
Under the hood sits Ford’s venerable 5.0 V8. That engine saw a power resurgence in the Mustang and Mark VII during this era, but here in the Continental, it still makes a milquetoast 131 horsepower. Backing that up is Ford’s smooth-shifting for-speed AOD automatic. According to the ad, the car has a new fuel pump, air shocks, an A/C compressor, and enjoyed a recent full brake service.
Valentino
One of the ways Ford attempted to elevate Lincoln above the competition was through tie-ins with famous Haute Couture designers. On this Continental, that pairing is with Valentino, the Italian fashion designer known for flamboyant Beaux-Arts designs. The Valentino Continental is surprisingly reserved, featuring special colors on the exterior and interior, along with subtle V badging on the trunk lid, sharing space with the Lincoln crest.
This Continental’s interior is in remarkable shape, showing only minor wear and tear on the most commonly handled elements, such as the steering wheel and armrests. It also has a wildly cool and currently retro digital dashboard, something that was all the rage back in the ’80s. Being a Lincoln, it’s kitted out in excess fashion. That means power windows, seats, and locks, automatic climate control, and an early trip computer built right into the dash. Below that sits Ford’s Premium Sound stereo. The seller says this car was owned by a Lincoln Club member, meaning that it was likely well-cared for and given the respect an average owner would not have offered. Also, who knew there was a Lincoln Club?
Let’s do the time warp again
It’s safe to say that, outside of a museum or getting Marty McFlied back to 1985, you won’t come across another Lincoln Continental of this era in as nice a condition as this car appears to be. A clean title and the seller’s appraisal that this is “Perfect for the car collector or fashionista!” lead us to now consider the car’s $12,500 price tag.
Yes, that’s a lot of cash for a car of this caliber from the era when the concept of luxury was turning from acres of chrome and marshmallow springs to smaller, more capable cars. This Continental is an interesting bridge between those two eras, and for that, it warrants our attention.
What’s your take on this Continental and that $12,500 asking price? Does that seem fair, given the car’s condition and extreme lack of miles? Or does that price make this Lincoln a loser?
You decide!
Central New Jersey Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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