1987 Lincoln Continental sedan

A black 1987 Lincoln Continental with 86,000 miles hammered sold for $8,500 at the 2025 Mecum Kissimmee auction.

“The first thing you’ll notice is that everyone else does.”

In the final year of its seventh generation, the “Fox” Lincoln Continental was little changed. The real wood trim in the interior was retired in favor of imitation wood, and 1986’s weird-looking “geometric cast aluminum” wheels were gone. Otherwise, only color and trim changes were visible.

The V6 and the BMW diesel were long gone, so the 1987 Continental’s only available powertrain was a Windsor 150 bhp 4.9 liter/302 ci V8 with sequential multi-port fuel injection mated with a four-speed automatic with overdrive. 0-60 came in about 11 seconds in a car with a 3,800-pound curb weight. Fuel economy was respectable: 17 city/27 highway by the standards of the day (16/24 by 2025 measures). With a 20.3-gallon gas tank, a Continental owner could expect a range of 365 to 400 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.

The Continental’s base price was $26,402 for 1987—approximately $75,500 in today’s dollars. That’s about $20,000 more than the 2025 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring SUV goes for—with about the same interior dimensions, including somewhat tight rear legroom.

Over its six-year lifespan, Lincoln notably increased the Continental’s base equipment level. By 1987, base exterior and mechanical equipment included quad halogen headlamps, an illuminated/keyless entry system, a power antenna, power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering, an Electronic Air Suspension with automatic level control, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, and P215/75R15 white sidewall tires (a size still readily available) on 15-inch forged aluminum wheels. Inside, every Continental for that year included fingertip speed control, interval windshield wipers, Automatic Climate Control, power windows, power door locks, six-way power-adjusted Twin Comfort Lounge cloth seats, and an AM/FM stereo cassette radio with a six-speaker Premium Sound System.

Options & Production Numbers

The now well-equipped Continental offered relatively few options for 1987. Exterior and mechanical options included Glamour paint ($268), dual-shade paint ($320), a power glass moonroof ($1,319), a Traction-Lok differential ($101), puncture sealant white sidewall tires ($200), and wire-spoke aluminum wheels ($693). Interior options included an automatic-dim day/night mirror ($89), an Anti-Theft Alarm System ($200), leather seat surfaces ($569), and the Ford JBL high fidelity 12-speaker audio system ($506).

For $4,300 over the base Continental, the Givenchy Designer Series made the wire-spoke aluminum wheels and leather seat surfaces standard. Special Givenchy two-tone paint and specific trim were also added.

1987 was a decent year for Lincoln’s mid-size sedan. Despite being at the end of its life cycle, 17,597 were sold. This Continental was also the last of the bustlebacks, as Cadillac’s second-generation Seville sedan (1985) and Chrysler’s Imperial coupe (1983) had already departed.

The View From 2025

Continentals of this era do attract some collector interest—though not as much as the Mark VIIs and Town Cars—and there is club support. Being based on the Fox platform means that some mechanical issues are more straightforward and less expensive to solve than they might otherwise be (and that some mild performance upgrades are easier).

According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, all the money for a 1987 Continentals in #1/Concours condition is a somewhat astounding $21,100, with a far more normal #3/Good condition version going for $6,800. These Continentals are sometimes available in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, or on Bring a Trailer, and, as previously discussed, they occasionally show up at auction.

Make mine Cabernet Clearcoat Metallic, please.

Other Lincolns I have covered include the 1980 Continental Mark VI coupe, the 1984 Continental Mark VII LSC coupe, and the 1986 Mark VII coupe. I’m a little surprised that I haven’t written about at least one Town Car.