Image courtesy oldcarbrochures.com

First off, thanks to all of you who provided suggestions in last week’s Class of 1986 update post. We didn’t leave out your favorites on purpose – after all, we have the entire second half of the year to continue to examine the noteworthy cars and trucks from 1986.

One theme we keep coming back to in our selections for the Class of 1986 is the emergence and widespread adoption of high technology and the rapid obsoleting of older technology that has served automobiles back to the beginning of the automobile age. Typically, the high technology was to be found in imported vehicles that year, while stone-age technology soldiered on in domestics. However, there were exceptions to that rule, and one of those exceptions was the 1986 Lincoln Mark VIII LSC, a domestic vehicle that blended both old and new.

Introduced in 1984 as the Continental Mark VII (and later referred to simply as the Mark VII), it boasted aerodynamic composite headlamps, a first for an American car, along with a coefficient of drag of 0.38 – the same as a Citroën CX, ostensibly named as such because of its slippery aerodynamic design. A full foot shorter overall and 400 pounds lighter than the Mark VI, the Mark VII now rode on the famed unibody Fox platform, though the Mark VII boasted of a number of chassis advancements, including four-wheel disc brakes, anti-lock brakes (introduced on the LSC in 1985 and across the Mark VII lineup in 1986), and a unique electronic air suspension. From the beginning, Lincoln positioned the LSC as the performance variant of the Mark VII, with a 45 percent stiffer suspension, larger front and rear anti-roll bars, quicker steering, special cast-aluminum wheels, and (for 1986) an analog instrument panel. The LSC was also the only Mark VII to receive the 200hp 5.0L H.O. V-8, the same sequential multi-port electronically fuel-injected Windsor-based engine that made its way into the Mustang GT and Mercury Capri that year. All LSCs came with the Ford AOD four-speed automatic transmission. While the Mark VII didn’t much change for the 1986 model year – it dropped the Versace Designer series trim level as well as the BMW-sourced 2.4-liter turbodiesel six-cylinder option – it did make Car and Driver’s 10 best list that year. All that, and the Mark VII just barely edged out the Continental in terms of production totals in 1967 – 20,056 versus 19,012. No breakdown exists for the Mark VII LSC.

So what say you about the Mark VII LSC? Does it deserve the “collectible” label, 25-year cutoff or not? Would you house one in your garage dedicated to 1986 vehicles? Or is it not significant enough to warrant attention?