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Lincoln Versailles

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This is about the Lincoln vehicle produced using the Versailles nameplate. For the Ford vehicles sold under the same nameplate, see Ford Versailles

Lincoln Versailles
Overview
ManufacturerLincoln-Mercury (Ford)
Production1977–1980
50,156 produced
AssemblyUnited States: Wayne, Michigan (Wayne Stamping & Assembly)
United States: Mahwah, New Jersey (Mahwah Assembly)
Body and chassis
ClassCompact luxury car
Body style4-door sedan
LayoutFR layout
RelatedMercury Monarch
Ford Granada
Powertrain
EngineTemplate:Auto CID Windsor V8
Template:Auto CID Windsor V8
Dimensions
WheelbaseTemplate:Auto in[1]
LengthTemplate:Auto in[2]
WidthTemplate:Auto in[3]
HeightTemplate:Auto in[4]
Chronology
SuccessorLincoln Continental (Mid-size)

Introduced on March 28, 1977;[5] the Lincoln Versailles is the first compact[6][7][8][9] luxury car from the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company. Sold from 1977 to 1980, 50,156 were produced.[10] The Versailles was sold only as a 4-door sedan; it was also the last car introduced on the 1960 Ford Falcon platform.

The Versailles was largely a response to the emergence of CAFE requirements for 17[11] mpg in 1977. Ford responded by choosing the smaller-sized Ford Granada and Mercury Monarch as the base for a new mid-size Lincoln sedan; the Versailles was visibly a Granada clone and quickly became one of Lincoln's greatest sales disasters.

During the 1980 model year, the Versailles was discontinued without a direct replacement. In 1982, a new model based on the Ford Fox platform, the new downsized Continental now virtually the same size as the Versailles, but with an entirely different body from its Ford counterparts. In early calendar 2005, as a 2006 model, the Lincoln Zephyr was introduced (renamed the Lincoln MKZ a year later), an update of the Versailles' basic concept of providing Lincoln luxury in a smaller package.

Comparison to Granada

Lincoln Versailles rear, showing "Continental" trunklid

Lincoln stylists modified the existing Granada with a Lincoln-style front clip and wheel covers; the trunk lid wore a spare tire bulge inspired by the Continental Mark coupe (lettered "Lincoln" instead of "Continental"). Doors and windows were interchangeable, the roofline was identical. The windshield wipers remained present and exposed, long after hidden wipers had become expected not just on luxury cars, but even on intermediates.

Although the Versailles openly bore a resemblence to the Granada/Monarch when it was introduced in 1977, the difference between it and its stablemates became clearer in terms of quality control and control over NVH. Going beyond factory standards for the Granada and Monarch, the Versailles was designed with “matched balance driveline parts, low-friction lower ball joints, double isolated shocks, reinforced chassis areas and plenty of insulation. Balanced forced aluminum wheels wore Michelin X-radials. Quality control was at the plant was strengthened to the point of dynamometer testing of the engine/transmission, a rigorous water spray test to pinpoint body leaks, and a simulated road test. Bodies received the first clearcoat paint on a regular production car.”[12]

1979 facelift

1979-1980 Lincoln Versailles

For 1979, some differentiation between the Versailles and the Monarch/Granada was provided when it received own notchback roofline with a carriage-style landau vinyl roof. This was done by the use of a hidden fiberglass[citation needed] cap and required the use of separate rear window frames. The car was also introduced some genuine firsts to the industry. The Versailles was the first American car to use halogen headlights and the first to use clearcoat paint, which would shortly spread throughout the industry. Sales hit their hight with approx. 21,000[10], then virtually stopped. The Versailles was withdrawn before the end of the 1980 model year with only about 4,000 produced[10], although prototypes for the next generation design had already been built.[citation needed]

In a break with Lincoln tradition of the time, and the competition Cadillac Seville of the same period (the "Elegante" package from 1978), the Versailles was available in standard sedan form only with no "designer editions" or luxury packages adding to its title (i.e-"(Title) Edition").

After 1980, Lincoln left the smaller luxury car market for a year, then re-entered the market in 1982 with the downsized Lincoln Continental; the midsize Continental was also heavily based on an existing Ford platform, but fared far better due to extensive diffentiation between it and its Ford counterparts.

Technical specifications

Mechanically the only differences the Versailles had over the Ford Granada rested in equipment that was standard on the Lincoln, while optional on the Ford. All models were equipped with some variation of the Windsor V8. The 351 was used for most parts of the United States in 1977 only, while California and high altitude areas received a 302 with a veritable-venturi 2-barrel carburetor.[13]. From 1977-80 all models were equipped with 302s; 8.4:1 compression in most areas, and 8.1:1[14] in California and high altitudes leading to slightly different horsepower and torque ratings. "Versailles dimensions". Retrieved 2011-11-03.

Built on unibody construction, the only transmission ever used was the common Ford C4 three speed automatic. Front suspension was “spring over upper arm w/ball joints and drag struts and coil springs” [15] while rear was “Hotchkiss w/semi-eliptical leaf springs.” [16] The rear differential used was the tried and true Ford 9-inch, while brakes were always standard four wheel discs.

The car's close relationship to the Granada had an unforeseen consequence. Although the Versailles was a sedan-only model, its trim and mechanical parts would bolt right onto a Granada coupe. An unknown number of these two-door conversions were made by owners with a sense of humor, particularly as donor Versailles began to depreciate and show up in wrecking yards.

Sales

Calendar Year American sales
1977 15,434[17]
1978 8,931[18]
1979 21,007[19]
1980 4,784[20]

Today, the Versailles' lack of success is working in its favor. The fairly small number produced has given the car rarity value, and Versailles values are reportedly going up. As the enthusiast site lincolnversailles.com puts it, "Finding few Versailles buyers during the late 1970s, today it is being viewed as a future classic. Low mileage and restored Versailles are, now, being advertised with list prices from $5,500 to $10,000."


See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lincoln Versailles.

References

  1. ^ title=1978 Versailles Brochure | url= http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Lincoln/1978_Lincoln/1978_Lincoln_Versailles_Brochure/1978%20Lincoln%20Versailles-15.html%7C accessdate = 2011-29-01}}
  2. ^ title=1978 Versailles Brochure | url= http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Lincoln/1978_Lincoln/1978_Lincoln_Versailles_Brochure/1978%20Lincoln%20Versailles-15.html%7C accessdate = 2011-29-01}}
  3. ^ title=1978 Versailles Brochure | url= http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Lincoln/1978_Lincoln/1978_Lincoln_Versailles_Brochure/1978%20Lincoln%20Versailles-15.html%7C accessdate = 2011-29-01}}
  4. ^ title=1978 Versailles Brochure | url= http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Lincoln/1978_Lincoln/1978_Lincoln_Versailles_Brochure/1978%20Lincoln%20Versailles-15.html%7C accessdate = 2011-29-01}}
  5. ^ Flammang, James Standard Catalog of American Cars 1976-1999 3rd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, Inc 1999), p.596.
  6. ^ Flammang, James Standard Catalog of American Cars 1976-1999 3rd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, Inc 1999), p.595.
  7. ^ Dammann, George The Cars of Lincoln Mercury (Sarasota, FLA: Crestline, 1987), p.503.
  8. ^ Woudenber, Paurl R. Lincoln & Continental 1946-1980 The Classic Postwar Years” (Osceoa, WI: Motorbooks International, 1980), p.131.
  9. ^ McCall, Walter M.P. 80 Years of Cadillac La Salle (Sarasota, FLA: Crestline, 1982), p.417.
  10. ^ a b c "Production & Registry totals". The Granada-Monarch-Versailles Registry. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
  11. ^ Woudenber, Paurl R. Lincoln & Continental 1946-1980 The Classic Postwar Years” (Osceoa, WI: Motorbooks International, 1980), p.133.
  12. ^ Flammang, James Standard Catalog of American Cars 1976-1999 3rd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, Inc 1999), p.595.
  13. ^ Dammann, George The Cars of Lincoln Mercury (Sarasota, FLA: Crestline, 1987), p.503.
  14. ^ Dammann, George The Cars of Lincoln Mercury (Sarasota, FLA: Crestline, 1987), p.512.
  15. ^ Flammang, James Standard Catalog of American Cars 1976-1999 3rd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, Inc 1999), p.596.
  16. ^ Flammang, James Standard Catalog of American Cars 1976-1999 3rd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, Inc 1999), p.596.
  17. ^ Flammang, James Standard Catalog of American Cars 1976-1999 3rd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, Inc 1999), p.596.
  18. ^ Flammang, James Standard Catalog of American Cars 1976-1999 3rd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, Inc 1999), p.597.
  19. ^ Flammang, James Standard Catalog of American Cars 1976-1999 3rd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, Inc 1999), p.599.
  20. ^ Flammang, James Standard Catalog of American Cars 1976-1999 3rd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, Inc 1999), p.601.
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