Lincoln Versailles

Lincoln Versailles
1980 Lincoln Versailles
Overview
Manufacturer	Lincoln (Ford)
Production	1977–1980
Assembly	United States: Wayne, Michigan (Wayne Stamping & Assembly) United States: Mahwah, New Jersey (Mahwah Assembly)
Body and chassis
Class	Compact luxury car
Body style	4-door sedan
Layout	FR layout
Related	Mercury Monarch Ford Granada
Powertrain
Engine	351 cu in (5.8 L) Windsor V8 302 cu in (4.9 L) Windsor V8
Dimensions
Wheelbase	109.9 in (2,791 mm)
Length	200.9 in (5,103 mm)
Width	74.5 in (1,892 mm)
Height	54.1 in (1,374 mm)
Curb weight	3,827–3,915 pounds (1,736–1,776 kg)
Chronology
Successor	Lincoln Continental (1982)

The Lincoln Versailles is a compact luxury car that was marketed by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company. A rebadged variant of the Mercury Monarch and Ford Granada, the Lincoln Versailles was sold from the 1977 to the 1980 model years.

The smallest Lincoln produced until the introduction of the Lincoln LS in 2000, the Lincoln Versailles was developed largely as a response to the Cadillac Seville and to European luxury sedans. With only 50,156 produced over its entire production run, sales of the Versailles fell well under Ford Motor Company projections.

The Lincoln Versailles nameplate derives eponymously from the noted 17th-century palace outside Paris.

During the mid-1970s, the Lincoln division of Ford sought to expand its model range for multiple reasons. In comparison to the four distinct luxury model lines offered by Cadillac and the three offered by Chrysler (including Imperial), Lincoln offered only two distinct model lines in 1975. While sales of large luxury cars went on to rebound after the 1973 oil crisis, its impact lead to the rise of imported cars. As Honda and Toyota began to gain market share in the economy-car segment, the luxury car segment gained competition from smaller vehicles, as well. While competing in price with Cadillac, Imperial, and Lincoln, the West German BMW 3.0Si and Mercedes-Benz 350SE/450SE offered American luxury-car buyers a far different vehicle than produced by American manufacturers.

In May 1975, General Motors introduced the Cadillac Seville as an all-new 1976 model in response to both the fuel crisis and import models like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. While the smallest Cadillac, the Seville was also priced as its most expensive model. Although using the chassis and mechanical underpinnings of the Chevrolet Nova to save on engineering and development costs, the Seville was given its own exterior; no body panels were shared between the vehicles. Two years after the introduction of the Seville, Lincoln brought out its all-new Versailles. Despite being the smallest Lincoln in the lineup for 1977, the Versailles carried the highest base price at $11,500.