Lincoln does not build many cars like the Lincoln Continental Mark III: a 2-door coupe with 460 cuin V8, built from 1968 to 1971 in the decade that gave the world the pony car and the mid-engined supercar.
The background
The Continental Mark III is a personal luxury car marketed by Lincoln from the 1969–1971 model years. The namesake successor of the 1956–1957 Continental Mark II, the Mark III likewise served as the flagship vehicle of Ford Motor Company. Offered as a two-door hardtop coupe, the Mark III was noted for its hidden headlights, Continental spare recalling the Mark II and its Rolls-Royce styled grille. The Mark III was developed as a direct competitor to the Cadillac Eldorado, creating a three-decade market rivalry between it and the Continental Mark series. To avoid the exceptionally high development and production costs of its largely hand-built, extremely low-volume predecessor, the Mark III shared its chassis with the four door Ford Thunderbird.
Model-specific design elements, including its hidden headlamps and large chrome grille distinguished the two — while sharing the same roof structure and rear windows, retractable into the C pillar, of the two door Thunderbird. Later models featured genuine walnut interior accents and a Cartier-branded clock. In a first for an American car, the 1970 Mark III was fitted with Michelin "X" Radial Tires as standard equipment. Ford manufactured the Mark III at its Wixom Assembly Plant facility in Michigan alongside the Thunderbird and the Lincoln Continental. For 1972, in alignment with a Thunderbird redesign, the Mark III was superseded by the Continental Mark IV.
The engineering
Under the skin sits 460 cuin V8. Kerb weight is 4866 lb. The gearbox is a 3-speed C6 automatic. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 117.2 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Where it sits in Lincoln's history is not in doubt: the Continental Mark II came before it; the Continental Mark IV followed it; it was built at Wixom, Michigan (Wixom Assembly), United States. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Toyota Hilux, the Peugeot 504, the Range Rover Range Rover. Its Lincoln stablemates include the Lincoln First Call and the Lincoln Funeral Car.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Lincoln Continental Mark III — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.