1980-'83 Lincoln Mark VI Designer Series Two-Doors

It's human nature to want to feel special and unique, and we all choose personal accessories, like clothing and jewelry, that we feel reflect our taste. Those with the means to do so often treat automobiles as personal accessories, and in the 1970s, Lincoln's bold two-door Continentals were sought by those with discretionary income and expressive taste. The downsized 1980-'83 Continental Mark VI brought numerous changes, but Lincoln retained its most exclusive variants, the Designer Series. These limited-production cars have long represented the end of an era, and a surprising bargain.

The Designer Series had first appeared on the hugely popular Mark IV in 1976, and included four cars, each named for a famous fashion designer: Bill Blass, Cartier, Hubert de Givenchy and Emilio Pucci. They featured unique colors and premium trim, and were continued through the 1977-'79 Mark V generation, into the Mark VI.

Cartier Edition

The Givenchy Edition was a $1,739 option over the base ($15,424) 1980 Mark VI two-door that brought two-tone Light Fawn Metallic beige and Bittersweet Metallic red paint, plus a Light Fawn vinyl roof and Bittersweet leather upholstery. The Cartier Edition cost $2,191, and its two-tone Medium and Light Pewter Metallic paint was capped in a Medium Pewter Landau vinyl roof, over leather or cloth upholstery and standard turbine-spoke alloys. Also costing $2,191 was the Pucci Edition, which had Light and Medium Fawn paint and a Light Fawn Landau vinyl roof, with two-tone leather seats and standard lacy spoke alloys. Priciest was the Bill Blass Edition ($2,809), which wore white and Dark Blue Metallic paint, a convertible-style white Carriage roof and lacy spoke alloys.

Givenchy Edition

These four Designer Series two-door models were revised in 1981, with the Cartier option costing $2,031, Pucci $2,160, Givenchy $2,372 and Bill Blass $3,015. The following year brought Bill Blass and Givenchy Edition two-doors ($23,594 and $22,722), and a Pucci Edition four-door ($23,465); the Cartier Edition became a Town Car exclusive. 1983 marked the last of the formally-styled Continental Mark VIs, with the remaining Pucci and Blass Edition two-doors costing the respective equivalent of 2015's $58,251 and $58,916.

Pucci Edition

Hagerty's Price Guide Report for this series shows that, over the past six years, the average value has been $6,000. It listed a "fair" driver-quality #4 example at $3,800 in September 2009, and exactly the same price in September 2015. A #1 concours-quality example was valued at $12,100 in 2009, but may now command $13,400.

Lincoln & Continental Owners Club (www.lcoc.org) member and Mark VI historian Chris Rocen concurs: "The Mark V cars have appreciated in value in the past decade, and now that some of those might be a bit out of reach for someone wanting to get into the old-car hobby, the Mark VI may be a good second choice. In some ways, the Mark VI is a forgotten car from the 1980s, caught between the grand Mark V, and the new 'aero' Mark VII in 1984--in many ways, it's the last Mark version of a traditional American luxury car. It seems that not very many people appreciate the Mark VI, but those who do, can't get enough of them!"

Value Trend

1985: $8,000

1990: $6,500

2000: $4,500

2005: $4,500

2010: $5,500

2015: $6,000