1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V

The Diamond Jubilee Was a Tribute to Lavish Luxury

Let’s be honest— the late ’ 70s were not a highwater mark for the American automobile. Often referred to as the “Malaise Era,” the span between 1973 and 1983 was a time of downsizing, downpowering, and generally inspiration-less design.

From a performance standpoint, the fastest car in America in

1978 wasn’t even a car at all—it was a truck! (Dodge’s Li’l Red Express—read more about it on page 16.) Meanwhile, a lackluster economy, rising gas prices, and tightening emissions standards were putting the squeeze on the luxury segment as well.

But despite those formidable headwinds, Lincoln refused to be pushed off course with its flagship, the Lincoln Continental, when it redesigned it for the 1977 model year. Instead, the brand also launched a second, smaller model called the Versailles in

’77 to cater to the downsizing trend, freeing it to make the Continental even longer, wider, and more extravagant than the outgoing car.

When it came to extravagance, nothing matched the linetopping personal luxury coupes of the Continental Mark series. Despite having just two doors, the new-for-’77 Mark V was more than 19 feet long—yarding the competing Cadillac Eldorado by half a foot. The new car utilized some modern building techniques to shed several hundred pounds, which helped gas mileage climb into the double digits (if only just). But nothing about the Mark V conveyed “economy,” be it fuel or price. The $13,000 or so for a “regular” Mark V seemed like a bargain next to the Diamond Jubilee edition released in 1978 to commemorate Ford Motor Company’s 75th anniversary. The special package made standard virtually every extra available on the Mark V and added a number of exclusive decorations—for a premium of $8,000 on top of the price of a base Mark V. That made it, at the time, the most expensive car Ford had ever sold—and yet the company managed to sell 5,159 of them—roughly evenly split between Diamond Blue and Jubilee Gold. The only options were a 460ci V-8 (upgraded from the standard 400), dual exhausts, a power moonroof, and a CB radio (very ’70s!) Automodello’s exquisite Diamond Jubilee Mark Vs come in both colors and come equipped with the moonroof option. They’re sealed-resin bodies, so there’s no way to tell if they have the 460 option, but they make do with single exhaust and there’s no sign of the CB radio. They are part of Automodello’s ONE24 series—so named because they are (logically enough) 1:24 scale—but in the case of the Mark V, that yields a model nearly 10 inches in length, which, by way of comparison, is longer than a 1978 Mustang in 1:18!

Like all of Automodello’s 1:24 models, the Lincolns come in an upscale clamshell display box and mounted to a stylish wood plinth with a nice leather-look finish. Such a presentation befits a Mark V as well as any car, but it’s the Diamond Jubilee details that really make this model shine—literally, in certain respects. It starts with the colorkeyed Landau vinyl roof and a special matching padded vinyl panel on the “Continental” sparetire hump, which got its name from the original 1939 Lincoln (but was purely cosmetic on the Mark V, which had a conventional spare-tire mount inside the trunk). There is specially beveled and etched glass in the C-pillar porthole or “opera” windows (with a matching opera light!) that includes a diamond chip as the dot on the “i.” The special color-keyed hood ornament had special crystal facets in it.

The samples we have are still preproduction, but they re-create all these details except the hood ornament crystal, but that’s forgivable given the size.

As extravagant as the exterior is, the interior is even more opulent. The seats, separated by a center console (the first such arrangement on a Lincoln), were more like power recliners than buckets, and they came covered in color-keyed Kasman cloth broadlace. The moonroof appears covered in opaque foil from above, but viewed from within the car, it can be seen to be a transparent tint. The model captures the pillowy upholstery as well as the generous wood trim, and padded leather inserts further dress up the interior. Oddly though, the gold car has its console installed backward such that the padded leather armrest is tucked up under the dash. But in every other respect, the model’s interior is resplendent in its luxury and accuracy. As the model is meant to be displayed on its base, it has no chassis detail beyond the bottom of the vertical grille and single exhaust pipe. But it does wear thin whitewall tires and the special color-keyed Turbine-pattern aluminum wheels that were exclusive to the Diamond Jubilee.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In an era of automotive compromise, the Lincoln Mark V Diamond Jubilee edition is utterly without it. Packed with technology and luxury, it was the grandest car Lincoln was capable of producing, and it commanded the grandest price tag. And yet there were more than 5,000 customers willing to pay the $21,000 to be the proud owner of Lincoln’s finest. Surviving examples still command a lofty sum at auction today by collectors. Collectors of 1:24 luxury now have a chance to own a pristine Diamond

Jubilee Mark V. Each of the two factory colors will be released in extremely limited quantities of just 175 each. It’s a model that defines an era, and does so with grandeur.