The Lincoln Versailles is a mid-size luxury sedan manufactured by Ford Motor Company and marketed by its Lincoln brand for model years 1977-1980 as a rebadged variant of the Ford Granada and Mercury Monarch. Replacing the Mercury Grand Monarch Ghia, the Versailles competed with the Cadillac Seville — and was noted as the first vehicle marketed in North America with clearcoat paint and halogen headlights.

Deriving its nameplate from the French palace outside Paris, the Versailles was offered as a four-door sedan — as the final vehicle developed from the chassis architecture of the American Ford Falcon.

From 1977 to 1980, Ford manufactured the Versailles alongside the Granada and Monarch at Wayne Stamping & Assembly (Wayne, Michigan) and Mahwah Assembly (Mahwah, New Jersey), with production totaling 50,156.

Origin of name

In 1966, during the development of what would become the Continental Mark III, Ford researched suitable nameplates with potential consumers with Versailles placing third (after Mark VI and LeMarque

In 1973, the Lincoln Mark I Ghia concept car was developed by Ghia, derived from the Ford Granada Mk I.

For 1976, the Cadillac Seville was introduced in May 1975. Developed by GM (in only 16 months) in response to both the fuel crises and in effort to match European luxury sedans, the Seville sourced its V8 engine from Oldsmobile and its chassis underpinnings from the Chevrolet Nova.

Interior

Essentially taking over the role of the Mercury Grand Monarch Ghia, the Lincoln Versailles inherited many standard interior features, including many seen in the larger Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Continental. Along with power-operated leather-trim seats and steering wheel, power steering and windows, the Versailles included features such as a digital LCD clock, dual map lights, lighted passenger vanity mirror, rear-seat map pockets, and plush carpeting with soundproofing.

Chassis

The Versailles shared its wheelbase with the Ford Granada/Mercury Monarch and the four-door Ford Maverick/Mercury Comet. Marketed as a compact, the footprint of Versailles more closely aligned with cars of later mid-size cars.

Lincoln advertised a dedicated quality-control regimen used at the factory. According to the marketing, final assembly included dynamometer testing of the engine/transmission, a water spray test to pinpoint body leaks, and a simulated road test. The Versailles featured "matched and balanced" driveline elements, low-friction lower ball joints, double isolated shocks, reinforced chassis areas, sound insulation, and balanced forged 14-inch aluminum wheels with Michelin whitewall X-radials. Bodywork received the first clear-coat paint on a regular production car.”

The Versailles shared its powertrain with the Monarch upon which it was based, with a V8 engine as a sole choice. Initially, the Versailles was powered by the 351 cubic-inch V8, phased out in favor of the 302 cubic-inch V8. The three-speed C4 automatic transmission was the only transmission available. The rear differential used in the Versailles was Ford 9-inch with rear disc brakes, replacing the drums used on the Granada and the Monarch.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:70%;"

|-

!Engine model

!Displacement!!Horsepower!!Torque!!Transmission

|-

|Ford small block V8

||| at 3600 rpm|| at 1600 rpm

| rowspan="2" |Ford C4 3-speed automatic

|-

|Ford Windsor V8

|

| at 3200 rpm

| at 1600 rpm

|-

! colspan="5" |

|}

Sales

In comparison to the Cadillac Seville, the Lincoln Versailles fared poorly, outsold by the Cadillac by a three to one margin in its 1977 debut year. Following its update for the 1979 model year, sales of the Versailles would more than double, though remaining far behind its Cadillac counterpart.

In its entire production run, Lincoln would sell 50,156 examples of the Versailles.

|-

|1978

|8,931

|-

|1979

|21,007

|-

|1980

|4,784

|}

References

  • Versailles enthusiast site
  • American Granada, Monarch & Versailles Registry & Forums