For most of the interval from the center 1950s by means of the late 1990s, the Lincoln Marks ended up the most expensive autos People in america could acquire from the Ford Motor Enterprise. All through the 1970s, the Mark III, Mark IV, and Mark V individual luxury coupes ended up constructed on the exact same chassis as the then-large Thunderbird, with curb weights hovering around 5,000 lbs .. This is a 1972 Mark IV, from the year when engine energy actually started off its Malaise Era fall off a cliff, photographed in a Denver-region self-company property.
The record value on this car or truck begun at $8,640, which amounts to a little something like $61,445 in 2022 bucks. That was quite a bit less than the $10,634 Mercedes-Benz 280 SEL 4.5, although the Benz had the much more highly effective V8 motor.
Energy ratings experienced just gone to web alternatively than gross numbers, so this massive 460-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V8 was rated at just 224 horsepower (ever-stricter emission regulations knocked genuine energy down as well). At minimum the torque was however rather fantastic, at 342 pound-feet.
Runs on regular gasoline!
This vehicle evidently invested pretty a whilst, probably at minimum a pair of decades, sitting down outdoors in the harsh Colorado weather. The seat upholstery is deeply irradiated.
The padded vinyl roof failed to fare very well beneath the solar.
A person has torn apart the sprint, but you can still see the classy Cartier clock hiding in the wreckage.
There’s some rust, plenty of to scare off any one who could possibly have been intrigued in doing a restoration.
The Continental Mark IV’s most important rival was the Cadillac Eldorado, which was somewhat smaller sized and (marginally) a lot less packed with bling.
The ’72 Imperial LeBaron was less expensive and boasted one particular additional horsepower than the Mark IV, but appeared stodgy upcoming to the devil-may-treatment Lincoln.
Additional than 8,000 proprietors of that luxurious motor vehicle switched to Continental for ’71.