The Lincoln Motor Company was founded by Henry Leland in 1917 with the aim of competing with Cadillac, one of the top luxury automakers at that time. To accomplish this, Abe Lincoln (yes, he’s related to Honest Abe) ordered his engineers to build “a motorcar for the great multitude” that would be just as refined and reliable as any other car on the market but without all the flashy frills that most people couldn’t afford anyway. When they were done, he gave it a name worthy of its heritage: Model K.
Here’s Why Lincoln Has An Eye For High-Performace Luxury:
1) Lincoln had a long history of high-performance luxury cars: The first Lincoln car was introduced in 1922 and by 1930, they started to experiment with V12 engines. In the following decades, the brand experimented with new features such as self-leveling air suspension and push-button gear selections (which is still used today). They even had an engine that could shut down 4 cylinders when cruising which brought them close to their goal of using variable displacement like some Formula 1 car do nowadays.
2) Lincoln actually designed its own turbocharger: Of course there were turbochargers back then but this one was different – it was designed and built by Lincoln engineers who wanted better airflow at lower revolutions. When you also consider that the car was made mostly out of aluminum, you can imagine how it would perform.
3) Lincoln actually designed its own supercharger: The Mark VIII LSC (1998-2002) was the last production model to feature this hot little number that could produce up to 10 psi of boost in low revolutions. Of course, this required specially-tuned cams and other goodies that helped tremendously when accelerating at higher speeds or when climbing hills, but it also translated into better fuel economy under normal driving conditions so you didn’t have to choose between performance and efficiency. If you ask me, I say bring the supercharger back! And while we’re at it, why not work on variable displacement again? Only time will tell…
4) Lincoln was all about motorsports: Racing is the ultimate test of any high-performance vehicle. And not only has Lincoln been involved with racing, but they were actually at the forefront of it too. The Mark II LSC (1966-1969) was built for Detroit’s Police Interceptor and had a 450 hp V8 capable of propelling it to 126 mph top speed – that’s a pretty good performance from a full-size luxury car in 1967! In fact, I know a lot of companies that wish their cars could do this today…
5) Lincoln didn’t advertise much: They preferred to let word-of-mouth do its work since a high-performance luxury car was sold on reputation more than anything else. And so far, this tactic has worked out pretty well for them by making the brand garnered a lot of respect from car enthusiasts all around the world.
What do you think about Lincoln’s history with high-performance cars? Share your thoughts in the comments section below or visit our inventory list here.
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