Truly this car was the Last of the Dinosaurs. The fourth in Lincoln's Mark series of luxury coupes, the Mark V, though it was launched in 1976 as a '77 model, had actually begun development before the first fuel crisis in 1973.
By the time it came out, however, the nation had already experienced the shock of the OPEC embargo and so even though it rode on the same 120" wheelbase as its predecessor and was actually a couple inches longer (the longest postwar FoMoCo coupe, period, at 230.3"), vigorous weight reduction had shaved a few hundred pounds from the curb weight, down to "only" 4,652 pounds.
That new fuel consciousness also meant that the base motor for '77 was a 400 cubic inch 2-barrel version of Ford's Windsor small-block V-8, rated at 179 SAE net horsepower.The 208 horsepower four-barrel 460 cube big block remained an option.
For 1979, though, due to tightening CAFE regulations, the 460 was a goner, as was the second exhaust outlet on the 2-bbl 400, leaving only 159 ponies to propel this glamour barge down the interstate.
Motor Trend tested a '79 Mark V, a $13,594 Bill Blass Edition lacking no options but the factory CB radio, with the optional 2.75:1 performance rear axle (standard final drive ratio was 2.47:1) and managed an 11.6 second jog to sixty and a best quarter mile of 18.5 seconds at 76 mph.
About the car, they wrote:
"The 1979 Mark V was the essence of unconstrained American automotive opulence, conceived in a time when fuel economy and space efficiency were the concerns of lesser cars.One of the final Detroitmobiles from the era when a big Lincoln or Caddy was the height of opulence and showing up at the club in something European made you look a little effete.
...Even with the weight loss, the Mark V is a huge piece of machinery, albeit a desirable one in terms of potential value. It is the last of a breed and has sufficient quality and style to assure eventual classic status It is entirely likely that, in 10 years, the owners of such cars will discover that they have a piece of collectible automotive machinery.
....To drive the Mark V is to be the captain of your own huge, luxurious ship. In an operational sense, the Mark V is massive, smooth and competent only in boulevard or highway applications.....What it was designed to do, it does very well. It isolates the driver and passengers from the outside world, and when you're driving, it makes you feel - and makes other people thin k you are - rich. Even with its rather straight-lined, sharp-edged styling, the car has a certain rakishness and projects the image of the driver as an elegant rogue."
The subsequent Mark VI had to hang its head in downsized shame.
The Cream 1979 example in the pictures was photographed in October of 2020 using a Nikon D7000 and Nikon's excellent 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR zoom lens.
