Special Edition models are nothing new to the automotive world, although they were once exclusively the preserve of volume manufacturers. Niche marques like Ferrari and Lamborghini have now adopted the practice to boost sales and the all-important budget bottom line. Lincoln produced several examples during the Continental Mark IV’s production life, including this 1975 Silver Luxury Edition. It presents superbly, and with 19,000 genuine miles on the clock, it should provide a new owner with years of comfort and enjoyment. The Mark IV is listed here on Craigslist in Beverley Hills, California. It could be yours for $29,500, and I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder T.J. for spotting this stunning survivor.
Lincoln produced the Mark IV for the 1972 to 1976 model years. It replaced the successful Mark III, riding on the underpinnings of the Ford Thunderbird. By following this practice, Lincoln produced its new model with relatively low development costs. It boosted sales with its four-pronged Designer Series in 1976, but the 1975 Silver Luxury Edition could be considered a precursor to those vehicles. Only available in Silver Diamond Fire Metallic, buyers could choose between a conventional vinyl top or the optional Landau-style top featured on this car. Very few other options were available, but this car’s original owner selected the power Moonroof for added exclusivity. This Lincoln presents beautifully for its age. The paint retains a warm shine with none of the patchiness that often plagues this shade. The vinyl is perfect, and life in California and a climate-controlled garage have left the classic rust-free. The chrome and tinted glass are as flawless as the rest of the exterior, while the polished aluminum wheels are free from stains and physical damage.
American manufacturers spent countless hours reviewing their offerings during the 1970s. It seemed that fate was conspiring against them, with tighter emission and safety laws and rising fuel costs prompting a general downsizing of models as the decade progressed. Lee Iacocca was not a fan of the practice, loudly and proudly stating during this period that the Ford Motor Company remained “the home of the whopper.” Lincoln bucked the industry trend, with the Mark IV’s wheelbase and overall length significantly larger than its predecessor. Engines got no smaller, with this Continental powered by a 460ci V8 bolted to a three-speed automatic transmission. In keeping with its luxury leanings, power assistance for the steering and disc brakes were standard features. The V8 produces 223hp and 366 ft/lbs of torque, leaving performance acceptable for the period. It is worth examining a few figures to gauge evolution’s impact on the Continental over five model years. The 460, as found in the final Mark III that rolled off the line in 1971, produced 365hp and 500 ft/lbs. We must remember that those are gross figures, but the 1972 Mark IV’s net outputs were 212 hp and 342 ft/lbs. As already noted, those numbers increased slightly by 1975, but the vehicle’s weight climbed mercilessly. The Mark III tipped the scales at 5,002 lbs, while this figure dropped marginally to 4,993 lbs with the Mark IV’s 1972 release. However, by the time our feature car rolled off the line, that had ballooned to 5,353 lbs. The seller claims this Mark IV has 19,350 genuine miles on the clock without mentioning verifying evidence. That is a shame, although the car’s overall condition makes the concept seem plausible. This Lincoln has been meticulously maintained, and recent work ensures it will head to its new home in excellent mechanical condition. The seller fitted a new carburetor, brake hoses, a master cylinder, a power steering pump, a thermostat, plugs, a distributor cap, and a rotor. Flying in to check out the sights of Beverley Hills and making the return journey behind the wheel of this classic would be a realistic option.
The seller’s interior shots are disappointing, because none provide a clear overview of its condition. However, piecing together the supplied images paints a positive picture. The Silver Luxury Edition brought Silver Leather and vinyl upholstery that is in exceptional condition. There is no evidence of wear, abuse, or deterioration, and no aftermarket additions. The leather looks soft and inviting, while the spotless 18oz cut-pile carpet on the floors is also found in the trunk. The interior features the usual array of creature comforts to pamper its occupants. These include climate-control air conditioning, power windows, power locks, six-way power front seats, cruise control, a tilt wheel, a remote trunk release, a rear defogger, and a power antenna. The original owner splashed a few extra dollars by adding the optional AM/FM radio/8-track player, power driver’s seat lumbar support, and a remote passenger mirror. The A/C recently received a new compressor, while the cart in the 8-track is the original “Ford Family of Fine Music” item supplied by the manufacturer.
This 1975 Lincoln Continental Mark IV Silver Luxury Edition is a stunning car from a simpler time. It is big, bold, and dripping with the type of excess that was a hallmark of many vehicles that received the attention of Lee Iacocca during this period. Its condition is well above average, while its odometer reading sits at the opposite end of the scale. That begs the question of whether the seller’s price is justified following a value decrease of around 4% during 2023. Recent sales results suggest they might be successful, but they may need to bide their time. However, making tentative inquiries might be worthwhile. They don’t indicate a willingness to negotiate, but stranger things have happened in the classic world. The worst they can say is no, meaning potential buyers have lost nothing but a bit of time. You never know, but today might be your lucky day.
This may not be your favorite type of car, but as Adam notes there is no dispute that it is “big, bold, and dripping with… excess.” Which is why I like it.
This example looks barely used but has had some mechanical updates. If you want something which you would use as a cruiser for quiet, pleasant drives, this fits the bill. Or it would have no trouble keeping up with modern traffic. For this one, you would need to like silver; I think it looks classy, inside too. The sticker price equates to $80,000 today.
I thought I burned out on silver after the early 2000’s. But this shade is like burnished metal. Absolutely beautiful Mark.
Reminds of the car Frank Cannon drove around. The 1972 to 1976 Lincoln Mark IV was known as the Cannon car.
I had a 1978 mark V loved that car looking out over that long hood miss it
Well, there’s a reason for that. But the IV was not the only Lincoln he had; in the first season he drove a III, and in the debut story a full-size 1970 sedan (which got trashed early on in the story. I used to watch that show as a kid–mainly for the cars, being too young to follow the plots–with my grandmother, who was addicted to Quinn-Martin shows.
Not a Cannon watcher but always wondered how he managed to fit into those MARKS. Liked JAKE and the FAT MAN better,but don’t remember what cars were used. 🤔 McMillan and Wife was interesting with the Chief having (at different seasons) a Lincoln Continental, Imperial, and Cadillac, while wife had a Chevy station wagon. BANACEK ruled with a sports car, classic Packard convert, and chauffeured Cadillac Limo.
Yes Bob, I love silver. And I LOVE this car. Can you imagine driving to the LS on a Saturday afternoon, 72 degrees, windows down, listening to smooth jazz on the radio, your arm around your sweet one, lookin for the heart of Saturday nite, in an all silver Lincoln MK IV. It gives me chicken skin just thinkin about it. Ahh, maybe some day…
Remember the TV show Cannon? This was known as the Cannon car.
😉 HI OH, Silver! The LONE RANGER rides again! 👍
Should be an Oldsmobile, Tom 😉
A true landyacht of yesteryear !! Cars were huge in those days with attention to detail especially in the luxury class . But times have changed , with most buyers resorting to more practical and fuel efficient vehicles . I recall in my younger years , ( the 1960s ) , most of the automobiles seen on our nations highways , were big and heavy ! You saw very few imports . Now , we are buying electric vehicles and for good reason . Yes , we have seen many changes over the last 50 years with more to come ! Happy Motoring
OLD Dog 🐕 can’t appreciate most of the changes. Long time lover of the GREAT AMERICAN LAND YACHTS. Fortunately driving a beautiful low mileage 2007 Town Car, shaking my head at all the SUVS, trucks and crossovers flooding the roads. As for electrics, understand many have had issues in cold weather! My Town Car starts with the turn of the ignition key. Fortunately we can all STILL? 🤔 have our own opinions.
i found a low milage cartier edition that sat in a dry garage for years , low miles and real clean but obviously needs recommissioning i think it was around 2k cdn i was thinking a bargain if you had time and space. that was a few months ago so in sure its long gone.
long story short because the type of people that bought then many were babied and you can find a real nice one for WAY less than 30k! maybe if there’s plastic still on the seats.
anyways always loved these boats
Good point 👉 Jimmy. Luxury cars are often above well maintained, and almost never abused.
Beautiful Lincoln here. Cavourness trunks for easy traveling 🧳
Not always; mine went through serious abuse before I came across what was left of it. It still looks very abused on the outside, but I have been meticulously caring for it on the inside. It deserves proper cosmetology, yes; but it already draws so much attention to itself that I see its ratty “patina” (dunno where that word came from, but it’s apparently popular now) as a passive defense against theft.
These LAND YACHTS always Float MY Boat.
The $30k must be the California price. Out here in the real world, you can knock ten grand off the price. But, it’s a sweet MK IV.
I’m glad they shot some of these photos at a gas station cuz I’m sure it doesn’t pass many of these. :-)
I had one of these in dark blue with white vinyl and white leather interior, moon roof and all but my radio also had a built-in c.b. That big 460 moved it quite well. Rode on 235R75x15 tires. It was a heavy car but handled fairly well for a highway cruiser. I didn’t worry about gas mileage then and still don’t. If memory serves me well gas was about a dollar a gallon give or take a few penny’s. I feel the price is a bit optimistic but if I were the seller it would be a fair price. Whoever buys this is going to love it.
God Bless America
It wasn’t a Bill Blass edition, was it?
TKD: The `76 Bill Blass editions were navy metallic with cream trim, not white.
I worked at a gas station from 1975-77 in Pennsylvania it was like Wally’s from AGS and I was goober. Those years regular gas was .48 a gallon premium being about .55 which for anyone who afforded these cars could easily afford those gas prices. But the PTB created panic like always. Heck I drove cross country in 1986 for $120 in a 81’ olds 88.
I had a 73, 76, 80 and and 86 mark, live the all but the 76 inches silver with red velour interior was my favorite they were just beautiful cars at the moment I enjoy my 66 bird conv and at 81 plus years still enjoy driving, looking and dreaming about the years of real cars
LINCOLN…What a Luxury CAR should be and once was as evidenced by this MONUMENT to the GREAT AMERICAN LAND YACHT. Among my numerous upscale vehicles are a 78 Town Coupe with 460, 89 Signature Series, and current low mileage beautiful 2007 Signature Limited in CASHMERE. The 78 was the big brother of the MARK IV. Both were standouts while GM downsized. This SILVER beauty deserves a GOLD medal 🏅.
LUXURY VEHICLES like this are an indication that GOD did Bless America 🇺🇸 🙏 🏆
Rather have a Town Car. They ride better and have more room inside.
Probably won’t find another that’s this nice anywhere. The roofline borders on sinister giving it a gangster look, very cool. The only quibble is the box bumpers. The 1972 bumpers were much sleeker.
Which begs the question – Why doesn’t some enterprising soul start a business replacing all the atrocious 1970s bumpers with Chip Foose inspired wrap under units? I mean aside from the fact that it would be ridiculously expensive and there would be a very limited market. But imagine the Colonnade cars with bumpers that actually matched the styling. It would be a public service I tell you.
I had a 74 (I think that was the last year w/o cats) and that 460 had gobs of torque to move all that weight. Drove cross-country and got 10-12 mpg. Not much different from other big luxury cars.
I have to wonder why you would post a car for sale, let everyone know where it is and post a picture with the key numbers on it.
Ya know I love barn finds and always try to post positive remarks but to be honest with ya I believe the mileage claims about 10% of the time. I’ve researched how easy it is today to rewind if you will odometer readings. Google it , it’s truly scary for used car buyers and the crooked world we live in. The one video showed a man taking off 100k miles in a Chevy truck in 55 seconds with a gadget sold from our friends in CHINA.
And the lack of paperwork and maintenance records supporting the alleged mileage backs up the possibility of a rollback here; it’s obviously easy to do that with a mechanical odometer. Too bad, because these are starting to get respect in collectors’ circles as the last of the big block boulevard cruisers, and this is one I might bid on if I had the garage space.
I agree with Richard about milage claims to an extent?
I believe the number to be around 5 percent accurate most of the time?
The other 95 percent have either been tampered with or rolled over a time or two?
Just my oponion!
This is a stunning car in amazing condition. I beg to differ with the comments that it’s an unreasonable asking price. You’d be extremely hard pressed to find another one in this condition, let alone an SE model. $29,000 is not going to get you anything better than this, if this is the kind of car you’re wanting. You’re looking at the epitome of American luxury here folks, that came at a price then and it does now. If this IS the kind of car you desire, this thing is a bargain in my book. I doubt anyone who really likes this would consider it out of line. Those who would’ve never owned one or couldn’t afford one will always knock the price.
Speaking of the SE versions…ever see the Lipstick Edition? One of the most beautiful red shades ever put on a car.
Lipsticks are gorgeous, especially if it has “Insta-Clear” glass.
As they say buy the best car you can afford, it’s cheaper in the long run.
Ad for Lincoln Navigator just popped up. Probably about $60,O00. Definitely makes this MARK look like a real bargain! Sad to see what now wears the Lincoln name.
Thank God it not an electric golf cart.
Excellent car.
Unfortunately soon everything from golf carts to SUVS likely will be Electric! Supposed savings on oil, will be outweighed by strain on already stressed Electric resources for homes and business!
A gorgeous surviving example of the limited-edition Silver, although the wheels make it look more like a ’76…not that there were really any differences between a ’75 Silver and a ’76 Silver (if there are, only Ph.D holders in Mark IV history can identify them; me, I only hold a BA).
I do not care too much for Adam’s explanation of the dynamics of these cars, solely attributing the gross-to-net change as the end-all/be-all reason for the dramatic drop in efficiency of the same engine. I know it’s a popular consensus to arbitrarily drop 35% of a 1971 (or older) engine’s advertised power to get the “net” power rating. Common sense will dismiss that as overly simplified and inaccurate, if not outright fictional. Different makes of engines will bear loads differently, meaning a 35% reduction in horses for a Chevy engine will not necessarily apply to a much larger Ford engine tuned for Lincoln use. I knew a guy with a ’73 Mark IV, all stock, and he once turned that car’s speedo on its head. Can’t do that with only 212 horses pushing a 5,000-lb. car. The only way to know the real differences between gross and net is to dyno actual examples of the cars in question, which has never been done. Stating the gross-to-net change as the sole source for loss of efficiency is the same as attributing man’s careless use of Planet-Earth’s natural resources as the sole cause of the ’70s fuel shortages (again, popular myth, but myth all the same).
The weights mentioned above are also a bit off. The Mark III only reached 5 kilopounds with a 200-lb. driver at the wheel. The weights for the IV, though a bit more accurate, were increased primarily (though not necessarily solely) by the Ralph-Nader bumpers first employed in ’73, then fully employed by ’74. Speaking of these bumpers, despite the lampooning they receive now, they were the best bumpers ever made, able to deflect impact force that would cause a statutory-total (if not an actual total) to any new vehicle you care to mention. The frames weren’t very good, but the bumpers were…and nicely shaped to the contours of the car, something detractors always neglect to concede in their attempts to sound witty.
If I had the real estate, I’d add this Silver IV to my collection. The Mark IV is my second-favorite of all the humpbacks.
As for NADER, to quote QUEEN VICTORIA, (he) is most provoking and vexatious and makes US quite cross!
I owned a 1975 Baby Blue, Robin egg Blue I call it Mark IV back in 1980. Matching interior color. Gorgeous car and I have never driven a car that rode like that since. So smooth and quiet. And yes, lots of stopping at the gas stations at 10mpg.
Would be a great car to add to my collection of Lincolns. Pricing is a function of what someone is willing to pay for it. I would pay this amount if I could afford the cost of the divorce that would go with it…….
Once saw a plaque. My husband says if I bring one more thing home from a sale, he will leave me! 🤔 🔫 Your cars or your wife? 🔫
What a beauty, to bad about the inflation we are dealing with, I remember buying and selling these cars 20 years ago when they were about 2K
Agree, but 20 years ago people were making much less. For folks on fixed income, the gap has widened a great deal. I started working in high school (part time) for $.85 per hour and gas was $29.9 per gallon. First new car, 77 Monte Carlo retailed at $6,677. Those were the days!
I had a 75 gold tan interior moonroof the best option was the heated glass. The car had 2 alternators one for the glass on Icy mornings hit the button in 10-15 seconds the windshield and back glass were melted. The glass looked like it had a gold tint. That was a very very comfortable car ! I would love to own this one but I’m lacking the 30k to buy it.
The ultimaximus in a glutinous society. Big gulp anyone? Guessing based on the positive comments, that this may fall under a necessity rather than a luxury. Only in America. That was a song, I think. lol
It’s SUPERCAGIFRAGILISTICEXPEALIDOCIOUS! LOL, but most of us fondly recall those halcyon days of yesteryear when these magnificent OTT excessive Land YACHTS maneuvered the highways in unparalleled luxury, comfort, and stylish elegance. Currently monstrous SUVS consume as much gasoline or more than these classic beauties. Electrics put a strain on many area struggling to provide enough power for homes and businesses. Thankfully in the USA, we are STILL able to have our own opinions. I respect your right to voice yours. Just wanted to voice mine. Another song, R E S P E C T!
Just a note, they replaced the Continental after the “Pilot” episode of”Cannon” because Mr. Conrad had trouble with the small doors.
They went with the Marks because of the larger door.
At that time he drove a red Eldorado and a red Coupe DeVille 2dr. in real life.
Not sure if I’ve ever seen a car picture more appropriate!!!! Pictured where you will normally find this,,,,,at a gas station!!!!