Concept Cars That Should Have Been Built: 2004 Lincoln Mark X

by Wallace Wyss –

Back in 2004 Ford showed a concept called the Mk X (for 10) which was basically a Lincoln-ized two seater Bird. It was meant to be a true American Luxury cruiser with a power retractable glass hard top.

You could call its plain sides “a minimalist” treatment, with none of the indentations, side scoops, and mini faux running boards of modern cars. The grille was the prominent feature in front. Then similar to the ’66 Lincoln Continental, it had two chrome strips running the length of the car defining its shoulders.

The colors were subtle, the exterior was a light blue. The interior was Lime Sorbet contrasted with White Corian accents, polished aluminum, dark chrome, natural grain leather seating, plush sheepskin flooring and tailored tone-on-tone stitching. The instrument panel is a sort of smaller replica of the Sixties Lincoln dash, mixing analog with digital technology.

Chief designer of the Mark X, was Marek Riechman who sought to make the car sort of a “I’ve made it” statement, Said Reichman: “The focus with Mark X was on pure, integrated design. Our holistic exterior and interior design approach instantly shows its rewards…”

Different from the Thunderbird was a retractable hardtop which admittedly would reduce its utility as a weekend vacation car because those hardtops gobble up much of the trunk. The Mark X was 185″ long, and featured 21″ chrome alloy wheels, and 3.9L V8 with 280 hp (209 kW).

I think Ford could have sold it in mass production as a premium model for say $60,000 but since the two seat Thunderbird was failing, they decided not to stick their neck out twice on two seaters. Now you can’t buy concept CARS, right? Except when you can. First Sam Pack added it to his collection and then RM re-auctioned it in 2014. It sold for $129,250, probably one 7th of what it cost to build. But they warned: “This vehicle will run and drive but is not DOT or EPA certified. It cannot be registered for highway use in the United States and is offered on a Bill of Sale only.”

2004 Lincoln Mark X

Hey we want these cars to drive. That’s like serving a sumptuous meal at a restaurant and then being told “You can only look at it.”

Let us know what you think in the Comments.

 
 
THE AUTHOR: Wallace Wyss worked in Detroit writing ad copy for two ad agencies with GM accounts. Now he’s bent his pen to the task of writing 25 car based fiction stories for an anthology.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Summary

Article Name

Concept Cars That Should Have Been Built: 2004 Lincoln Mark X

Description

I think Ford could have sold it in mass production as a premium model for say $60,000 but since the two seat Thunderbird was failing, they decided not to stick their neck out twice on two seaters.

Author

Wallace Wyss