About the same time GM was shedding size and pounds from many of their luxury offerings, Lincoln introduced a new full-size entry into their Mark series in 1977, with this one proudly wearing the moniker Mark V. The auto was chic and plush even it its base form, but Ford had a special 75th anniversary coming up the following year, and Lincoln got to be a part of this celebration. In 1978, the one-year-only Diamond Jubilee package became available for the Mark V, and special it was! This option added nearly $8,000 to the car’s already expensive window sticker, resulting in the highest-priced car ever produced by Ford Motor Company at the time. This beautiful example here on Craigslist is located in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, and at $17,500, this one costs slightly less than when it was new. T.J., thanks a lot for the tip here!
Words such as elegant and extravagant come to mind when evaluating this car, and for the period, the Diamond Jubilee Mark V was about as high-level as could be had for a domestic personal luxury coupe. Only two colors were available, including Diamond Blue and Jubilee Gold, with this one still wearing its original gold paint. The Diamond Jubilee also got buyers a color-matching grille, side moldings, wheels, plus vinyl on the top and Continental tire area on the trunk lid. The seller mentions a bit of patina showing on the finish, but this one still looks quite good for its age, and I’d probably leave the outside alone for as long as possible.
The interior also appears nicely-preserved, and while the seat covers aren’t made from leather, the cloth looks plush and comfortable. There’s power just about everything you can think of, plus this one’s equipped with an 8-track player, with an Elvis tape sticking out of it. Another very cool feature is a factory CB radio. About the only thing missing here is a moonroof up above.
With nearly everything a driver could want already standard on the Diamond Jubilee, one option was the 460 engine, which was wisely chosen here. By this time, the 400 V8 had become the standard engine, which was only making 166 horsepower. Choosing the 460 upped that number to over 200, and fortunately, this Lincoln has only traveled 42,000 miles. The ride is said to be as smooth as floating on thin air, and there’s very little regarding this 1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V Diamond Jubilee that’s not making me want it to fill up a large section of my garage. What are your thoughts on this one?
Nice 460 Jubilee 💎 Thanks Stephens
Gorgeous car, although not my favorite color, from when luxury car meant style, comfort, and size, as opposed to today’s idea of a luxury car, which means sitting in a canoe that looks like every other car out there but handles better, as if people drive through slaloms every day.
Add to that, Zen, that “luxury” today seems to be adding additional screens, an ugly grille, and about 25K over a comparable “non-lux” vehicle. The Lexus TX is a prime example of my rant.
Keep That Rant going, John E. I’ll simply say It’s a LINCOLN, what a Luxury CAR should be and ONCE was. 😔 IMO this is a solid GOLD Bon Marche, far better than today’s BLOATED SUVS at BLOATED prices😑 .
I bet back in the day one could pick up some hoes (for gardening) with this ride. Who owns this? Goldmember? Seriously, what a car! Never see these!
Just look at this car. In hindsight, it’s simply amazing, in that it’s over-the-top…. everywhere. For example, check out the upholstery. What an attention-grabbing cruiser it is.
Pimpin’ ain’t easy.
How we ever lost our way, I’ll never know. I suppose our driving needs changed, we no longer needed cars like this, replaced by AWD tin cans with an air bag to the airport. Again, I hate to keep picking a sore scab, but perhaps that RoadRunner(GTX?) with no floors or dash would be a better bet,,,see how stupid this all is?
I remember in the semi, one of these would pass me, and I’d hear this “flapping” sound,,,dog gone it, another recap coming off? Nope, the plastic filler between the front bumper and grill would flap on these cars, eventually coming off.
One of the last vehicles to retain an “automobile” moniker.
Yep; this is when a Lincoln was “what a luxury car should be” to quote one of their earlier tag lines. I drove one for a while (as a “spiff”) when a field traveler for Ford in the late ’70’s. Now a “Lincoln” (to use the term loosely) is nothing more than a Ford crossover with additional screens inside and some ugly chrome.
What a beast. That trunk looks like you could climb in and take a nap. I wonder if Lincoln will ever make cars again instead of crossovers. I’m with Howard in this one.
NO MOONROOF, ABSOLUTELY NO SALE
The lack of a moon roof makes it better as far as I’m concerned. I’d bet dimes to doughnuts, it leaks like a sieve.
Wrong.
I’ve owned 4 x 1978 gold Lincoln Diamond Jubilees over the past 18 years, each with the moonroof option.
None of them leaked. The glass is designed to not leak. The weather stripping is tight and the glass slides in so it is also water tight.
Well I lost that one. Tell me where to send your dime.
I snagged the opera windows out of one of these in a boneyard. There are little “diamonds” mounted in the glass. I thought it was a nice touch so I saved them.
I have no idea what to do with them, but there they are.
Photos appear to be taken with a filter/tint.
I guess this is what was considered “wretched excess “! From the vinyl covered spare tire hump, to the plush carpeting on the underside of the deck lid. It’s like driving a giant gold brick.
It’s HUGE! It guzzles gas! It pollutes the air! It scares the birds! Other cars part like the Red Sea to get out of its way! What’s NOT to love?
And how many Lincolns of any type do you come across with a factory-installed center console? The perfect finishing touch.
Man, this car is simply dazzling!
Wow! This IS American luxury! It’s gone replaced by SUV’s. So sad!
Photos look to be taken with filter and tint.
That would have done “the Duke”, aka Isaac Hayes, proud. BTW, did you ever wonder just how they shoehorned all that stuff under the hood, and made it work? Definitely a Car Dealer garage mechanics nightmare.
Take a look under the hood of any car today with a v6 and they are just as crowded – and difficult to work on — as this Lincoln. More so, with where they ae placing water pumps, alternators and etc. I still say the engineers that design the engine compartments need to be required to do some maintenance work on their abominations.
Too cool.
Made famous in the “French Connection”!
Holy moly! I’m not a huge car kind of guy but this thing is really cool. I’d just pop in an 8 track tape (Elvis would be fine with me) and hit the road in style listening to truckers in the background. Got your ears on good buddy?
G’day from Australia.
Haveing imported and owned our gold 1978 Lincoln Diamond Jubilees (and many other American classics including a rare factory ‘triple Persian Sand’ 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz with factory bucket seats and all factory options, I can attest the ’78 Diamond Jubilee is the most beautiful, luxurious ride of any car I’ve owned (around 30 from 1954 to 2025). The feeling behind the wheel is somewhere between ’70s pimp (refer Snoop Dog in the movie Starsky and Hutch) and a mob godfather. The best of all my four DJs is still with me and driven most weekends. Purchased 3 years ago from Mecum Auctions with 13,000 original miles, verified by the maintenance receipts.
BTW, a correction to the copy:
Quote:
“By this time, the 400 V8 had become the standard engine, which was only making 166 horsepower. Choosing the 460 upped that number to over 200, and fortunately, this Lincoln has only traveled 42,000 miles.:
Unquote.
Correction – the 460 engine was standard from the factory everywhere. The 400 engine was a ‘California-only’ engine to conform with California’s nescient engine environmental laws.
Fun Fact:
California residents who wanted a 460 motor ordered from a dealer in Oregon, Nevada or Arizona.