The Lincoln Continental Mark IV is a 2-door coupe from Lincoln, built from 1971 to 1976, as the oil crises and the first emissions rules rewired the industry. Under the bonnet: 460 cuin Ford 385 V8.
Where it came from
The Continental Mark IV is a personal luxury car that was marketed by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company from the 1972 to 1976 model years. The third generation of the Mark series, the Mark IV grew in size over its Continental Mark III predecessor. As with the previous generation, the Mark IV saw little direct competition in the American marketplace, competing nearly exclusively against the Cadillac Eldorado (redesigned for 1971). As with the Mark III, the Mark IV shared its chassis with the Ford Thunderbird, with the Mark IV receiving its own bodywork below the windows.
Hidden headlights and a traditional chrome radiator grille were retained, and a Continental spare tire trunklid. For 1976, the Designer Series option package was introduced; in what would become a tradition for the Mark series (and later Lincoln), the option consisted of specially coordinated exterior and interior trims developed between Lincoln and contemporary fashion designers. Ford assembled the Continental Mark IV at its Wixom Assembly Plant in Michigan) facility alongside the Ford Thunderbird and the Lincoln Continental. For 1977, the Mark IV underwent a substantial revision, becoming the Continental Mark V.
Under the skin
Power comes from 460 cuin Ford 385 V8. It weighs 5,264 lb. It shifts through 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 120.4 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Continental Mark III; its successor was the Continental Mark V; assembly was at Wixom, Michigan (Wixom Assembly), United States. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the American Motors Corporation AMC Gremlin, the Suzuki Jimny, the Renault 5 — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Lincoln catalogue sit the Lincoln First Call and the Lincoln Funeral Car.
What it costs now
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Lincoln Continental Mark IV has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.