Despite the fact that I’ve always loved the Continental Mark III, I wasn’t around yet when they first appeared in Lincoln-Mercury showrooms, so I never saw them new. However, friends of mine were around, and they all agree it was amazing the first time they saw one in the metal, gliding down the street.
Ray Flynn, a fellow Broughamophile, told me about his first sighting.
“The 1969 Continental Mark III was perfection to me when it came out. Stunning, especially in this color combination—it was love at first sight. Absolutely nothing like it. The way it was styled—inside and out—unbelievably elegant and mysterious. It would literally stop people in their tracks when they saw it for the first time ‘live’ and in person.
“I was at the house of friends of my parents. The daughter Patty knew I liked Lincolns. She said her mom had just gotten a new car and asked if I wanted to see it. We went to the garage, the door opened, and sitting there in person was a fantasy. Continental Mark IIIs had just come out! Her mom’s was dark blue, with a Black Cavalry Twill vinyl roof and dark blue leather interior. I could not move.”
His tale prompted another buddy, Jim Smith, to remember his first view of a Mark III.
“I’ll never forget the first Mark III I saw in the spring of 1968—gold metallic with a white vinyl top. It was love at first sight for this grade-school kid.
“I can recall exactly where I first saw the Mark III. It was northbound on Cicero Avenue, heading towards Chicago, near the Midway airport, on the southwest side of the city. That image of that car is burned in my mind, all these years later.”
The Mark III had its effect, of that there can be no doubt! While its predecessor, the Continental Mark II, was a gorgeous conveyance, it was a total flop and Ford Motor Company lost money on every one built, despite its lofty $10,000 retail price. For the Mark III, Lee Iacocca decreed that it would make money.
The first personal luxury car for Lincoln-Mercury would be based on the Thunderbird’s chassis, with, of course, totally different sheetmetal and interior trim. The 1969 brochure described it boldly but simply as “the most authoritatively styled, decisively individual motor car of this generation.”
And that, in fact, was the only text on the Mark III in the full-line brochure. The only other info was a list of standard and optional features, and color and upholstery choices. My dad recently found me the brochure online, and the discovery is what spurred this column!
While the standard Continental coupe and sedan were 224.2 inches long with a 126-inch wheelbase, the Mark III was slightly smaller, with 216.1-inch length and 117.2-inch wheelbase. It shared the same 460-cubic-inch V-8, with 365 hp, with its larger brethren. Oh, and 500 lb-ft of torque!
You were spoiled for choice color-wise, too, unlike today. The interior colors alone included black, gray, blue, red, aqua, white, saddle, dark ivy, or nugget gold. Standard interior trim was nylon fabric and vinyl, and leather-with-vinyl was an option.
Exterior colors were decadent. Just to name a few: Dark Orchid Metallic, Dark Ivy Green Metallic, Burnt Orange Metallic, Maroon, Medium Lime Metallic, Yellow, and Light Copper Metallic. Such choice!
I’m sure I’ve relayed it before, but my grandfather, Bob Klockau, had to have one of these. In fact, he bought the first one that came in at Bob Neal Lincoln-Mercury, on 11th Street in Rock Island, Illinois. His car was dark green metallic with matching top and matching green leather. He was driving a green on green ’66 Continental sedan at the time, which he rapidly traded in. He owned Marks for almost twenty years after that. His final car was a bustle-back 1987 Continental, which I recall vividly—I loved that car, too!
So I’ll always love the Continental. And the inaugural Mark III was an instant hit. Despite it being the most expensive model at $6758 (the Continental sedan and coupe were $6063 and $5830, respectively), it was extremely popular that year, albeit with an extended model year; the first Mark IIIs appeared in showrooms in April 1968, though all cars were officially 1969 models. Ford built 23,088, compared to 29,258 Continental sedans and 9032 Continental coupes, and the Mark III would continue through 1971 as a worthy competitor to the Cadillac Eldorado.
Today’s flawless example, gorgeous in maroon with red leather and black top, was at the 2023 Geneva Concours d’Elegance. Lincoln was a featured marque that year and the show, which I was attending for the first time, was terrific! The Mark II seen in one picture is owned by my friends and fellow LCOC Lake Shore Region club members, Joe and Barb Esdale.