Save the Lincoln That Couldn’t Save the Thunderbird

Perhaps that title is on the dramatic side, because the 2004 Lincoln Mark X concept car is unlikely to lose another battle after it already lost the war. It never became a production car, was never subjected to the rigors production entails, so going up for auction at Mecum Glendale is a relative cakewalk in comparison. The buying pool for 20-year-old concept cars is unlikely to pull the plug on this veteran after purchasing it, and surely the concept of double jeopardy also applies to concept cars?

We shall see where the bidding on the Mark X (pronounced Mark Ten) ends, because owning a vehicle with a bevy of unique parts that never made production will always scare people away. But one lucky winner will enjoy a stunning slice of luxury car history—one that’s also the tale of a tragic hero.

I dug deeper into the Mark X’s connection to the troubled, eleventh-generation Ford Thunderbird for a Hagerty Insider story, so I’ll be brief: The Mark X could have been made alongside the Thunderbird and Lincoln LS at the Wixom Assembly Plant, as part of a last-ditch effort to find more buyers and amortize costs associated with Ford’s struggling DEW98 platform. That wasn’t in the cards, however, as the Mark X was birthed right before Ford announced plans to close multiple plants and lay off tens of thousands of workers.

But the Mark X was precisely what the faltering Lincoln brand needed in a halo car. The retractable hardtop and 1963 Continental–inspired egg-crate grille would bring excitement to the brand in the same way the folding-droptop genre was benefitting the likes of Mercedes, Cadillac, Lexus, BMW, and Infiniti during that time.

But this concept car was more than a Thunderbird with a Continental grille. The chrome strip running across the Mark X’s belt line is a nice throwback to yesteryear’s slab-sided Lincolns. Or. as the press release said, “The Mark X concept is designed to demonstrate the potential of the Lincoln brand by stretching its DNA to a sophisticated roadster.”

While it’s clear Lincoln wasn’t going to change the Thunderbird’s hard points at crucial junctures—things like like the cowl, the doors, and its elongated rear deck—the overall look still screamed Lincoln DNA. It’s a shame the Mark X didn’t come to fruition, both for Lincoln’s loyal followers and the brand’s shrinking market share.

The Mark X’s interior was a concept car dream that looked close to production, as sharing bits with the Thunderbird meant you could do a fair amount of implementation behind the scenes and nobody would be the wiser. But the “lime sorbet” leather interior paired with Corian accents was likely never in the cards, the latter being the preferred finish for high-end kitchens, not cars. (This was before everyone demanded granite countertops in their McMansions).

Having lived in a house that had Corian added in a kitchen renovation, let me suggest that it is a bold interior material choice for an automobile. Corian is heavy and not exactly malleable, two poor traits when a production car faces a head-on collision. But the Mark X is just a concept car, and a Ford press release suggested that designers looked for inspiration from “the fashion, furniture and housing industries.” While the Corian accents likely just served as a little PR buzz for interior designers, the unfinished navigation system suggests this concept didn’t get nearly as far as intended. And certainly not as far as the Lincoln Mark VII Comtech from decades past.

So here’s the 2004 Lincoln Mark X interior in modern times, as it waits for its moment at the Mecum auction. The white Corian finishes made way for black, but that’s the most noticeable change over time. The interior presents itself with no wear, aside from one scratch on the plastic near the “Detroit 2004 Mark X” commemorative plate on the rocker panel.

The exterior photos from the Mecum listing show a concept car that still looks stunning, with an impressive stance and shockingly wide rear tires. There are two changes since we last saw the Mark X in 2004. The first is rather pedantic: Only a Lincoln nerd like yours truly knows that hood ornament came from an Essex Continental, so I wonder out loud what happened to the Mark X’s bespoke emblem. The other is more academic: someone took the chrome body side moulding in the fenders and rear quarter panel and made a matching metal strip for the door.

The bling in the middle of the door looks ready for production, and somewhat helps set the Mark X apart from the Thunderbird donor under the skin. And everything else on this concept Lincoln looks fantastic, so I’m curious if anyone can muster up the nerve to operate the folding hardtop after years of possible neglect. Trying to repair it will likely make working on a 1961–67 Continental convertible look easy. Or not, as the Mark X likely used off-the-shelf mechanisms found on other folding hardtops of the era.

Speaking of what’s on the shelf, this was truly a sad era in Lincoln history: The Mark X was canned, letting the Mark LT truck carry the legacy started by Edsel Ford (Lincoln Continental), continued by William Clay Ford (Mark II) and Lee Iacocca (Mark III) on its burly, F-150–derived shoulders.

There’s nothing wrong with a Lincoln truck, at least in theory. It just needs to look as Lincoln-like as the Mark X did on its Thunderbird underpinnings. A different grille and acres of bling certainly worked (and continues to hold its value) but this vehicle could have been a Navigator with a bed. Perhaps that was never in the cards….

Two years later, the Mark X did make an ironic comeback as the 2006 Lincoln MKX crossover. The name was strikingly similar to the Thunderbird-based concept Mark, and there’s no doubt where its grille came from. (Or perhaps a little doubt, as both Xs used the same 1963 Continental template in that regard.)

Both names were also unique, at least technically. The MKX crossover was never called a Mark Ten, though that’s absolutely what it looks like to traditional Lincoln customers who scan the tailgate’s emblems. Be it a Mark truck in 2004 or an “MK” crossover in 2006, the famous Mark Series evolved past its history as a low-slung Lincoln coupe.

While that’s a shame, the opportunity to grab the last Mark Series coupe ever made (so to speak) is at our fingertips. Concept cars are usually just dreams, but this will be someone’s reality. And wouldn’t it be a wondrous reality if it was feasible/legal to do a VIN swap with a tired, depreciated 2004 Thunderbird, then perform a supercharged V-8 powertrain swap from a Jaguar S-Type R? That’s truly how the Lincoln Mark X can live forever as the Mark Series successor it deserved to become.

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