Lincoln Continental Mark III

Continental Mark III
1969 Continental Mark III
Overview
Manufacturer	Lincoln (Ford)
Production	1968–1971
Model years	1969–1971
Assembly	Wixom Assembly, Wixom, Michigan
Body and chassis
Class	Personal luxury car
Body style	2-door coupe
Layout	FR layout
Related	Ford Thunderbird (fifth generation) Lincoln Continental (1961–1969)
Powertrain
Engine	460 cu in (7.5 L) V8 (385 family)
Transmission	3-speed C6 automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	117.2 in (2,977 mm)[1]
Length	216.1 in (5,489 mm)
Width	79.4 in (2,017 mm)
Height	53.0 in (1,346 mm)
Curb weight	4,866 lb (2,207 kg)
Chronology
Predecessor	Continental Mark II
Successor	Continental Mark IV

The Continental Mark III is a personal luxury car marketed by Lincoln from 1969–1971 model years. The namesake successor of the 1956–1957 Continental Mark II, the Mark III again served as the flagship vehicle of Ford Motor Company. Offered as a two-door hardtop coupe, the Mark III was noted for its hidden headlights, rear spare-tire trunk bulge recalling the Mark II and its Rolls-Royce styled grille.

The Mark III was developed as a direct competitor to the Cadillac Eldorado, creating a three-decade market rivalry between the Continental Mark series and the Eldorado.

To lower development and production costs over its largely hand-built predecessor, the Mark III shared its chassis underpinnings with the four door Ford Thunderbird. Model-specific design elements, including hidden headlamps (with body-color covers) and the Rolls-Royce-style grille distinguished the Mark III from the Thunderbird and Lincoln Continental — while borrowing the same roof structure and rear windows, retractable into the C pillar, from the two door Thunderbird. Later models featured genuine walnut interior accents and a Cartier-branded clock. In a first for an American car, the 1970 Mark III was fitted with Michelin "X" Radial Tires as standard equipment.^[2]

Ford manufactured the Continental Mark III at its Wixom Assembly Plant facility (Wixom, Michigan) alongside the Thunderbird and the Lincoln Continental. For 1972, in alignment with the redesign of the Thunderbird, the Mark III was superseded by the Continental Mark IV.