1969 Lincoln Continental Mark III

Lee Iacocca of Ford directed top designer Gene Bordinat to put a 'Rolls-Royce grille on a 1965 Thunderbird,' resulting in the iconic Lincoln Continental Mark III, a grandiose and boxy fusion of the fourth generation Lincoln Continental and the fifth generation Thunderbird. Introduced in September of 1968, the Lincoln Mark Continental III outsold the front-wheel-drive Cadillac Eldorado (23,333 units builts) in its first year. Its luxury combined with the most popular features in the automotive marketplace successfully transformed the loss-leading Lincoln-Mercury division of Ford in just a few months after its introduction.

The 1969 Lincoln model lineup consisted of the Continental and the Continental Mark III. The Continental was offered as a four-door sedan priced at $6,050 and a two-door hardtop priced at $5,820. The Continental Mark III was solely a two-door hardtop coupe with seating for five and a price of $6,740. The combined sales of the Continental was 38,383 units, approximately the same as the previous year. The Continental Mark III added an additional 30,858 sales and nearly doubling the output from 1968.

The Continental rested on a 126-inch wheelbase with a length of 224-inches while the Mark III had a 117-inch platform and measured 216-inches long. Both were powered by a V8 engine with overhead valves, 10.5:1 compression, a four-barrel carburetor, 460 cubic-inch displacement, and delivering 365 horsepower at 4,600 RPM.

Many consider the Continental Mark III as the spiritual successor to the limited production, ultra-luxurious Continental Mark II. Design cues included a radiator styled grille, hidden headlamps, uniquely styled wire wheel covers, and a spare tire bulge on the trunk.

Standard equipment included power brakes, power steering, power windows, vanity mirror, self-adjusting front disc brakes, individually adjustable front seat, rear lamp monitoring system, front and rear center folding armrests, and Flow-Thru ventilation system. Among the list of optional equipment included a six-way power seat, AM radio/stereosonic tape system with power antenna, AM/FM radio, sure-Track brake system, tinted glass, manual air conditioning, and automatic temperature control air conditioning.

Production of the Continental Mark III would continue through 1971, replaced for 1972 by the Contientnal Mark IV.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2021