By 1972, the muscle market was in decline but demands for personal luxury cars were escalating, making this an ideal time for Lincoln to introduce a new offering for their lineup, the Mark IV. Building off the success of their previous Mark III, the restyled car still retained some of the same features such as hidden headlamps and that cool rounded spare-tire trunk lid, but the body was modernized and an opera window was offered on the ’72 model which became standard equipment the following year. This 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV here on eBay is a triple-black beauty, and apparently, I’m not the only admirer who thinks so, as 41 bids have already taken the price up to $15,100 with reserve still yet to be reached. Head on up to Cleveland, Ohio, if you want to check out this one in person.
The present caretaker is only the car’s second owner, with the Lincoln having been under his watch since 1978 and it’s been kept in a garage since at least the late seventies. At some point, the Mark IV received a respray along with a new vinyl top, although it’s not specified how long ago this took place. Northern Ohio isn’t exactly the most friendly climate for metal preservation, but black is a hard color to hide flaws under and most of the photos are in the sunlight, and I’m not really spotting anything on the outside that would lead me to believe rust has ever been a problem here. We also get a photo from under each door, which seems to help confirm the seller’s statement that there’s never been any tin-worn nibbling on the body.
Climb inside and you’ll be experiencing early-seventies-style opulence at its finest, with the interior said to be in excellent condition but no word on if it’s all original or not. I’m guessing with less than 50,000 miles traveled there’s a good chance it’s just been well cared for over the years, with no holes and no tears present in the leather upholstery. Everything in there works with the clock being an exception, plus there are some fine accessories such as power seats, trunk release, a tilt steering column, and cruise control, none of which is unusual to find on most cars nowadays but nice features on autos made 50 plus years ago.
Lincoln only offered one engine choice for the Mark IV in ’72 but it was large in size, a 460 cubic-inch V8, the same displacement found in the previous year’s Mark III but it lost some compression and horsepower, down to just over 200 for the first-year Mark IV. It’s not specified if the drivetrain here has ever had an overhaul, but with the low mileage it may not have needed any serious attention yet and things under the hood certainly appear to be in fine working order. I’m enjoying the looks of this one and black-on-black-on-black is always a great color choice in my book. What are your thoughts here?
Man that car is a beauty. I don’t see anything wrong with it at all. Incredible comfort and driveability. Too bad it’s going to be way above my price range by the time it’s done but it’s always worth watching you never know.
Amazing how 5 mph bumpers later ruined the styling of so many cars.
What a work of art this one is!
I would love to see modern vehicles with single zone climate controls & the LOCATION of the controls like on this car + some cranky fussy passengers who are too cold or too hot.
I sure hope those wheels & wheel covers are not replaced with larger “modern” wheels, or worse, ghetto wheels.
0-60 in 10.8 sec, 1/4-mile in 18.4, 10.99 (not 11.0) mpg.
Yeah, I still want one.
This Lincoln deserves to have a twin turbo 3.5 l eco sport v6. Same power or better and twice the mileage. Keep it Ford.
You can buy a lot of fuel for the mo eye this swap would take. Plus who doesn’t like the effortless low end torque and smoothness of the 460. Imagine the power a 460 would make with modern fuel delivery, cylinder heads and the like.
I wonder what the mpg would be with a switch to a smaller primaries quadrajet, like fitted to some torinos.
I don’t understand why the big ford low compr precat ’72-’74 motors made less hp than those from chevy & pontiac.
IMO, these & even the ’75 merc monarch look their best in all black.
Looks ez2 change spark plugs – ford placed the big a/c compressor in a much better location than did GM.
Dad bought a black one new in 72 but with red interior. It was a striking car and rode like a dream. The fuel crisis hit the next year, and by the winter of 73/74, he was panicked enough to get a new AMC Matador Coupe with a straight six in the hope of better mileage. Didn’t work out too well. He wasn’t alone. Everyone was furiously dumping muscle cars and American V8 luxury for anything that promised better MPG. Waiting in endless lines for gas does that to you.
@ Mike Hawke
I was very fortunate in ’72 & ’73. In ’72 I had just bought a brand new MG Midget.
$3 to fill the tank once a week.
I had 2 uncles who owned gas stations, and I still had to wait in line with everyone else. By ’74 I couldn’t take the smallness of the MG and replaced it with a ’71 Imperial LeBaron. Didn’t care about mpg just wanted room and luxury.
I owned a 74 (last year for leaded gas, no cats) but they had the gov-mandated park benches for bumpers by then. Drove it cross-country and fell in love with it in spite of horrendous mpg. These are appreciating yet still affordable in the collector market. BTW that 460 moves all that weight pretty well!
I see that interior and just want to crawl in and take a nap
It’s a beautiful car! The only thing that bugs me is the misalignment of the decklid. Hopefully an easy fix.
Triple black is nice to look at but in the south it’s far to hot since black holds heat. I had a royal blue with white top and white leather interior and a moon roof at one point a few decades ago, but it was a 75 model. Great cruiser and I really didn’t pay any attention to the use of gasoline. It rode like on a cloud with all fancy options. In those days CB radios were a big thing and mine came so equipped with AM/FM 8 track. I really loved that car. There are other cars I’d rather have for the price of this one such as a 60’s Cadillac convertible preferably in red/white.
God Bless America
This is the biggest, baddest, scarryest, most dynamic, and most bang for the buck car ever made in the USA. Park it next to a triple black 4 door Lincoln and the planet will tip in that direction and the rivers will flow that way. This body style is a magnet for anyone who likes cars or even those who don’t, but anyone who drives sees it and wonders what it would be like to push other cars off the road as you lumber past them. A driver in a Jap car looks in their mirror and changes lanes rather than be em barest when they see what a real AMERICAN automobile made up of 4 times the iron might do to them in an emergency.
It just screams “class” and “presence.” Without the burden of the 5 mph bumpers, it somehow still looks stylish, despite its huge size. Looks great in triple black with the bright trim. A type of car we likely will never see produced again.
Today’s cars have all the technology and advancements that yesterday’s cars didn’t. But none of the new ones will ever ride like this Lincoln, the Cadillacs, and Big Chrysler’s of that time period. They were like rolling down the road on your most comfortable sofa. Not to mention that they had style out the wazoo! Every Luxury SUV today looks like a high top basketball sneaker-from the Land Rover, BMW’’s and Mercedes on down. Nothing special. The person who buys this is getting a piece of history on wheels.😊
My fave of the Mk. IV’s. 15 years ago, I told the wife we should start buying these ’72’s up. They were dirt cheap, even in this condition. The problem was, I didn’t have a building big enough to hold these big boys.
Not saying this Mark isn’t gorgeous, it sure enough is
Definately the best year of all the Marks! Rode in one in the back seat from LA to Sacramento and we floated the whole way! More room than two 6′ guys needed! Best riding car ever built!