| The forward-looking design aspirations of
Lincoln vehicles in the 21st century are expressed by the Mark X, Lincoln’s
first two-door convertible concept with a power-folding, retractable,
glass-roofed hard top.
Mark X, pronounced "Mark Ten," is a two-seat luxury convertible roadster that blends design elegance with driving athleticism |
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Mark X, pronounced "Mark Ten," is a two-seat luxury convertible
roadster that blends design elegance with driving athleticism. The use
of rich materials, varying textures and contrasting colours represents
an evolution of the current Lincoln design philosophy.
Throughout its history, Lincoln has used the Mark name to signal a truly
special vehicle. It began with Edsel Ford’s first Continental, the
Mark I. Next followed the 1956 Continental Mark II, which quickly became
a classic because of its high quality, clean styling and consumate good
taste.
The 1969 Mark III went on to sell more than 30,000 units, making it at
the time, Lincoln’s most successful new model ever. Other Mark vehicles
were introduced in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s.
The Mark X concept is designed to demonstrate the potential of the Lincoln
brand by stretching its DNA to a sophisticated roadster. While a concept
at this point, Mark X illustrates one possibility for expanding Lincoln
into new luxury niches.
"The focus with Mark X was on pure, integrated design," said
Marek Reichman, chief designer. "Our holistic exterior and interior
design approach instantly shows its rewards, competing against the best
personal luxury convertibles in the world."
Based on the rear-wheel-drive Ford Thunderbird architecture, Mark X features
a 3.9-liter, 4-valve DOHC V-8 aluminum engine mated to a five-speed automatic
transmission delivering 280 horsepower and 286 foot-pounds of torque.
Its athletic stance is accomplished through 19-inch, 12-spoke machined
aluminium wheels with P245/40/R19 Michelin tyres on the front and wider
P275/35/R19 tyres in the rear.
Mark X’s surface language is a model of precision engineering. Emphasis
was placed on integrating design into the functional aspects of the car
from the expansive grille to the innovative door handles to the sleek
rear facia. The result is an uncluttered exterior where essential details
like the delicate contrast of Atlantic Pearl paint, chrome accents and
well-placed Lincoln emblems are subtle, yet drape the vehicle in elegance.
The focal point of Mark X’s exterior is a new Lincoln grille. The
polished aluminium egg-crate grille features a rhythmic pattern of solid
horizontal and vertical chrome trim. Mark X’s grille may appear
on future Lincoln vehicles.
Two High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlamps use an arc capsule to generate
a faster response and produce double the amount of light compared to a
conventional headlamp.
Mark X’s sleek 185-inch profile is accentuated through the refined
use of a chrome finisher along the upper shoulder line that wraps the
entire vehicle and a subtle shoulder break that runs front to rear. Understated
breaks also appear on the rear deck and hood while heated exterior rear
view mirrors with directional indicators are elongated for visual emphasis.
Occupants access Mark X using slender polished aluminium door handles
that are flush-mounted to the driver and passenger door surface. Thumb
locators set in the door handles allow the handles to reveal themselves
when pushed. Both doors can also be opened by remote keyless entry.
To ease ingress and egress, one-piece hinges on the inside driver and
passenger doors move the doors forward and out to give increased foot
clearance at the front compared with conventional hinges.
Mark X’s boattail rear fascia offers pure and clean surfaces without
typical bumper offsets. The wide, Light Emitting Diode (LED) tail lamps
centre the Lincoln emblem. The LEDs light up 200 milliseconds faster than
traditional bulbs consume less power and outlast more conventional lighting
sources. Consistent with the vehicle’s integrated design theme,
the dual exhaust pipes are neatly placed into Mark X’s sloping rear.
At nearly 15 cubic feet, Mark X’s leather-lined trunk is spacious.
The fully powered two-piece glass roof is choreographed to stow smartly
into the rear deck in less than 30 seconds without interfering with trunk
space.
Inviting and indulgent interior
Mark X’s high-quality interior showcases Ford Motor Company’s
tripling of investment in interior design. The interior workmanship of
Mark X is flawlessly crafted. The right combination of contrasting colours
and textured materials presents a modern and luxurious cabin. Mark X’s
Lime Sorbet interior is complemented with White Corian accents, polished
aluminium, dark chrome, natural grain leather seating, plush sheepskin
flooring and tailored tone-on-tone stitching throughout.
The instrument panel integrates a softly illuminated, jewel-like instrument
cluster that combines analogue with digital technology. A solid flowing
centre console constructed of ribbed dark chrome separates driver and
passenger, unites the interior with the exterior and conceals a storage
unit in the rear bulk head. A laser-inscribed "Lincoln Mark X" vanity plate above the glove box suggests an air of luxury.
A four-spoke, power adjustable steering wheel wrapped with leather and
dark chrome features cruise, volume and navigation controls. Mark X’s
SelectShift transmission allows the driver to shift from manual drive
to a five-speed automatic from the steering wheel or shifter in the centre
console.
A multi-functional, 7-inch LCD information panel is operated by a mouse
located in the centre console and displays satellite navigation; climate
control status and vehicle dynamics like seat memory or tire pressure.
Occupants further benefit from Mark X amenities like rain-sensing windshield
wipers, an automatic dimming interior rear view mirror and Lincoln’s
exclusive THX-certified audio system with six speakers, automatic mute
control and automatic volume adjust. Dual zone climate control with pollen
filtration allows a 30-degree F difference in temperature settings for
the driver and passenger.
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