3. Ford Thunderbird/Mercury Cougar/Lincoln Mark VIII
Following the success of the Fox-body-based Ford Thunderbird/
Mercury Cougar/
Lincoln Mark Series personal luxury coupes in the 1980s, Ford decided to introduce a next-generation platform to modernize the trio for the 1990s. Known as the MN12 platform (or FN10 if you’re a Lincoln enthusiast), this surprisingly capable chassis is one of the last remaining rear-wheel drive platforms that hasn’t become prohibitively overpriced due to “drift tax,” a slang term for the exorbitant prices sellers ask for old rear-wheel drive beaters just because they’re easier to get sideways with. All three of these models have become increasingly challenging to find in good condition, but they’re still out there if you look hard enough, and they’re all still relatively affordable, for the most part. Since these were so popular, there are still plenty of them to find, and there are plenty of variants to choose from depending on your own preferences. Let me break them down for you.
1989-1997 Ford Thunderbird
Throughout the 1990s, the Ford Thunderbird offered a more spacious and comfort-focused alternative to the sportier Mustang. Despite the Thunderbird’s more grand-touring-esque approach to a personal coupe, it still retained Mustang-like features such as rear-wheel drive, available manual gearboxes, and powerful V6 and V8 engine options. Unlike the ’90s Mustang nowadays, though, the Thunderbird is still criminally overlooked, and therefore impressively undervalued. For example,
here’s a gorgeous 1995 Ford Thunderbird in Deep Emerald Green with just 22,000 miles and a 4.6-liter V8 that sold for just $11,000 in 2023. That’s essentially a brand-new V8 T-Bird painted in a desirable color and equipped with attractive OEM+ bumpers and skirts for nearly half the cost of a new base model Nissan Sentra with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and a CVT.
Although the Modular single overhead cam 4.6 V8 would be my choice of beating heart in a ’90s Thunderbird, there are plenty of other engines that are worthy of consideration. The basic 3.8-liter Essex pushrod V6 is a robust contender, but it can hardly move its own weight with just 140 horsepower to offer. Earlier Thunderbirds could also be had with a 5.0-liter small block V8, which was a far more stout performer thanks to its 275 lb-ft of torque, but its mere 200 horsepower was not as impressive.
The powertrains to really look out for in these MN12 Thunderbirds are, firstly, the durable, modular, SOHC 4.6-liter V8 engine, which offers just 205 horsepower and 265 lb-ft of torque (10 less than the larger 4.0), but benefits from far superior fuel economy compared with the 5.0 and is much more responsive thanks to its updated powertrain control module. Secondly is the Thunderbird Super Coupe—by far the most desirable of all the ’90s T-Birds—which packed an Eaton supercharged 3.8-liter V6 that produced up to 230 horsepower and 330 lb-ft of torque, and could be had with a five-speed manual gearbox. According to Motor Trend, the Super Coupe could launch from 0-60 mph in just 7.0 seconds and could achieve a 15.2-second quarter mile sprint at 88.1 miles per hour. These can be quite expensive, however, due to their rarity and genuinely impressive performance.
1989-1997 Mercury Cougar
Believe it nor not, the ’89-’97 T-Birds and Cougars were benchmarked to compete against European heavy-hitters such as the BMW 6-Series, the Mercedes-Benz 560SEC, and the
Jaguar XJS. This was, in large part, because their Lincoln counterpart, the Mark VIII, would actually go head-to-head with those luxurious imports. Still, the Thunderbird and the Cougar reaped the benefits of the agile, state-of-the-art platform and now represent some of the most overlooked sporting cars of the modern era. While the Thunderbird at least has its legendary name in its favor, the Mercury Cougar flies even further under the radar these days, especially as more and more people forget that Mercury ever even existed. That means you can find these for seriously cheap, and they offer the same thrilling performance as the Thunderbird, albeit without the supercharged V6 option.
Here’s a 73k-mile 1994 Mercury Cougar XR7 with a 4.6-liter V8 that sold for just $5,500 last year, for example.
1993-1998 Lincoln Mark VIII
This one would be my pick of the Ford trio, but that’s probably only because I’ve actually owned one. I spent $1,000 on a pearl white 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII when I was in college, drove it hard until the wheels came off, and then promptly scrapped it after I couldn’t even find anyone to take it off my hands for free. To this day, I still miss it dearly. The Mark VIII derived itself from its triplet siblings with a stretched chassis, computer-controlled air suspension, and the same dual-overhead-cam 4.6-liter V8 engine that could also be found in the SN-95 SVT Mustang Cobra and the later, Panther-based Mercury Marauder. Sending 280 horsepower and 285 lb-ft of V8-powered muscle to the rear wheels, the Mark VIII wasn’t just superbly comfortable; it was also an absolute rocket ship. The Mark VIII can roast tires with ease, delivers a potent snarl under hard throttle, and looks unique and elegant enough to appease the judgmental eyes of hipsters and baby boomers alike.
The only caveat of owning one these days, however, is that your neighbors will probably mistake you for a low-level pimp or a degenerate gambling addict. Still, at least you can put on a wild smoke show of a burnout in front of their house while showing them the finger, because you eat freedom for breakfast, and you drive a V8 Lincoln.
