High-end personal luxury cars were not a thing until Cadillac got into the game with the 1967 Eldorado. Of course, what A does, so does B, which meant Lincoln saw an opportunity to produce a competitor – enter the Mark III. This 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III is our Pick of the Day. It is listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in West Chester, Pennsylvania. (Click the link to view the listing)
Before we talk about the Eldorado, let’s talk about the 1956-57 Continental Mark II. This new brand and model was produced by the Ford Motor Company as a spiritual successor of the original Lincoln Continental that was built in 1940-48. The semi-custom Lincoln, available as a coupe and convertible, was a landmark car in an era where landmarks were hard to come by – after all, the war disrupted production, if not the luxury market.
When Ford Motor Company decided to create a spiritual successor, it also decided to shoot for the moon and create a new brand (Continental) and market segment unique for an American car. In this case, the Continental Mark II would be priced at $10,000, much higher than any Cadillac. The Mark II’s design contrasted with other American cars, exuding the best of the era while eschewing the Atomic Age nonsense that was beginning to afflict the market. However, sales were not enough to sustain the marque, so the Continental Division was folded into Lincoln and the Continental – now the 1958 Mark III – became a fancier Lincoln akin to the Eldorado to Cadillac. For 1959, it was the Mark IV and then the Mark V for 1960, and then the Mark was laid to rest until 1968.
The genesis of the 1969 Lincoln Continental Mark III actually didn’t lie with the introduction of the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado. Rather, it started when Lee Iacocca asked a designer to put a Rolls-Royce grille on a Thunderbird. The design evolved from there, but the Mark III did share its platform with the Thunderbird and Lincoln Continental, which helped speed its development so, in March 1968, Lincoln introduced the 1969 Continental Mark III to the public, a spiritual (though not quite upmarket) successor to the Continental Mark II. Standard content was prodigious, of course, and a fancy Cartier clock joined that feature list several months into production. A capable 365-horsepower 460 was the only engine available. With marginal improvements like standard radial tires and anti-lock braking, the Mark III was produced through 1971.
This Dark Brown metallic 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III features a Buckskin leather interior and is equipped with air conditioning, power windows, split power seats, AM/FM radio, rim-blow steering wheel, remote side mirrors, and more. Best of all, it has just 7,000 miles on the odometer.
“All original and excellent in every respect,” says the seller. Perhaps the most interesting thing of all is that this almost-new car, which likely cost around $10,000 new (when a good middle-class sedan was $4,000), can be bought for only $37,000.
Click here for this ClassicCars.com of the Day.
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