Continental Mark IV

Production period:	1972 to 1976
Class :	Luxury Car
Body versions :	Coupe
Engines:	Gasoline engines : 7.5 liters
Length:	5560-5795  mm
Width:	2025 mm
Height:	1350 mm
Wheelbase :	3060 mm
Curb weight :	2630 kg
previous model	Continental Mark III
successor	Continental Mark V

The Continental Mark IV was a full-size vehicle of the American automaker Ford Motor Company , which was produced from 1972 to 1976. It was the second generation of a series of luxury models founded in 1968 with the Continental Mark III, referred to as the Continental Mark Series, positioned above Lincoln's standard models.

Manufacturer of the Continental Mark IV was the Lincoln-Mercury Division of the Ford Motor Company . Like its predecessor Mark III, the Mark IV was also officially marketed as Continental Mark IV . With this model, Ford built on the tradition of the Continental Division , which was an independent subsidiary from 1956 to 1960 and produced high-quality luxury vehicles, including a Continental Mark IV (1959) offered in various body shapes . The reference to the Continental Division was made for marketing purposes to document the exclusivity of the Mark IV.

Misunderstandings exist in so far as Lincoln used the term Continental (without the suffix "Mark") since 1961 additionally as a pure model name for some of his models. These vehicles, which were positioned below the Continental Mark series, were given the brand name Lincoln and were called Lincoln Continental. Technically (except in the case of the later Mark VI) they had nothing to do with the Continental Mark models.

History

The Continental Mark IV was technically closely related to the 1972 Ford Thunderbird . Both vehicles used the same ladder frame and the same chassis. Externally, however, the Thunderbird and the Mark IV differed significantly.

The Mark IV took over the main design features of the Mark III: The body structure of the Mark IV again followed the "Long Nose Short Deck" pattern. The hood of the Mark IV was even longer than the Mark III, and the rear end was shorter again. The imitated spare wheel cover in the trunk lid was retained as well as the designed after Rolls-Royce front grille grille; the latter, however, became narrower. In the first model year of the Mark IV, the front bumpers were partially lowered to allow a higher grille. By the model year 1973 wide, heavy safety bumpers were introduced, which ran horizontally and no more depression allowed. The grille then became significantly lower. With the Mark IV Lincoln led the so-called " Opera Window"An, an oval window in the C-pillar. The Opera Window was an extra charge in the first model year. The buyers appreciated this detail very much, so it was from 1973 to the standard equipment. The Opera Window remained until Mark VI a distinctive feature of the Mark Series; only the later, emphatically aerodynamically designed models Mark VII and Mark VIII renounced this detail.

The drive technology remained unchanged. Lincoln continued to use the 7.5-liter eight-cylinder engine, whose performance was nominally reduced by switching to a modified, now net-worth, metering system. In 1972, the output was 212  SAE-PS, 1973 it was 208 hp, in 1974 220 hp, 1975 only 194 hp and 1976 then 202 hp. The fluctuations were due to changing exhaust emissions, to which Lincoln responded by adjusting engine performance. The power reductions were achieved by a relatively small carburetor and a correspondingly small-sized intake manifold. With restrained driving was then in theory an average consumption of about 18 liters per 100 kilometers in the third mix possible; However, German measurements showed an average consumption of 24 to 26 liters per 100 kilometers. However, the power reduction could be bypassed without much effort. By comparatively small interventions the engines could develop a performance of over 450 DIN-PS in a wide speed range.

Overall, the Continental Mark IV was a very big and heavy car. Like its predecessor, it was heavier than Lincoln's standard models. Although the Mark IV had grown significantly in the outside dimensions, he offered less passenger and trunk than the Mark III. This was due to the shortening of the passenger compartment. Due to the high lead frame also reduced the headroom. The passengers therefore had to take a strongly inclined attitude in the car. The trunk was dominated by the recumbent spare wheel, which led American correspondents to the assessment that he was "only limited use". 

The American car manufacturer Clénet Coachworks built between 1977 and 1979 on the chassis of the Continental Mark IV, the Clénet Series I , a retro-style roadster, which used the passenger compartment of MG Midget .

Designer Series 

For model year 1976 Lincoln introduced special trim levels associated with the names of certain fashion designers. The idea of ​​a special designer variant goes back to the American Motors Corporation , which introduced a Hornet "Gucci" in 1971.Lincoln offered 1976 Mark IV versions of Bill Blass , Cartier , Hubert de Givenchy and Emilio Pucci on. The versions each had an independent painting and a special interior: 

• The Mark IV by Bill Blass was painted dark blue and had a cream vinyl roof and cream-colored side stripes. The interior used blue velor or genuine blue leather. The surcharge for the Bill Blass version was $ 1500 (leather) or $ 2000 (suede).

• Cartier designed the Mark IV "very conservative"  outside and inside in dove gray. In addition, red and white vinyl accent stripes came on the sides of the car. The surcharge for the Cartier version was the Bill Blass variant.

• The Givenchy version of the Mark IV was painted turquoise and wore a white vinyl roof. The interior was also kept in turquoise. The wood of the dashboard deviated from the standard version: Instead of the walnut wood paneling, light ash wood was used. The surcharge for the Givenchy version was 1500 euros (leather or velor finish).

• Emilio Pucci's Mark IV version was painted a dark red and was connected to a silver vinyl roof. The surcharge corresponded to the Bill Blass variant.

Distribution 

The Continental Mark IV achieved higher sales than the Continental Mark III. He was in the years 1972 to 1976 Lincoln's most successful single model; In some years, twice as many Mark IVs were sold as Lincoln Continentals. The Mark IV also beat the cumbersome Cadillac Eldorado , which was located in the same market niche.

Production of the Mark IV was distributed over the model years 1972 to 1976 as follows (for comparison next to the production figures for the Cadillac Eldorado Coupe and Convertible):