This car, Lot 219276, sold for $147,000, including buyer’s premium, on Bring a Trailer’s online auction on November 11, 2025.
In 1979, Lincoln was the last luxury marque standing with regard to traditional full-size cars. The year before, both Cadillac and Chrysler made their last true full-size models, the Eldorado and New Yorker, respectively. GM had already shrunk the rest of its full-size range in 1977. Within Ford, the LTD and Mercury Marquis moved to the all-new, shorter Panther platform for 1979, with Lincoln’s Continental and Mark series set to follow the next year. How did Lincoln denote the end of an era? By making a limited-edition trim package.
Trend bucker
While the rest of the auto industry was in the throes of downsizing by 1977, Lincoln gave its competitors the finger with its Mark V. Essentially reusing the 1972–76 Mark IV’s underpinnings, most overall dimensions grew ever so slightly. Some of this was to clean up the Mark IV’s styling, going to the monolithic flat look that harkened back to the 1961–69 “slab-side” Continentals. This was a reflection of what Ford’s Head of Styling Gene Bordinat originally wanted the Mark IV to be, with Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen demanding the Mark IV’s curved bodysides.
Not only did the Mark V look trimmer, it lost 400 pounds from the Mark IV. This was due to an expanded use of plastics (including the dashboard structure) plus dropping a gauge of sheet metal and glass thickness. While you might think this 230-inch-long car was the largest production coupe that FoMoCo ever built, the “size matters” honor actually belongs to the 1975–79 Lincoln Continental Town Coupe at 233 inches.
Although the Mark IV had always sold well (volume peaked in pre-OPEC 1973 at 69,437), the V did “Mark-edly” better. While 1978 production dipped from 80,521 in its inaugural year to 72,602, sales rebounded to 75,939 in 1979. (That’s not too far behind Lincoln’s total sales of all models — none of them cars — in 2023).
Milking the Mark
Lincoln was one of the pioneers of luxury designer cross-branding. In 1976, Lincoln introduced four Designer Series packages for the Mark IV: Bill Blass, Cartier, Emilio Pucci and Givenchy. These were nothing more than paint and trim changes; all four design houses only approved of the choices made for them by Ford’s Interior Studio. They sold well enough that they were continued for the new Mark V the following year.
With the success of the Designer Series, Lincoln gilded the lily for 1978 with the Diamond Jubilee Edition. This and a similarly trimmed Thunderbird commemorated FoMoCo’s 75th anniversary. The Mark V was the first Ford product to have an MSRP over $20k due to two unique colors (Diamond Fire Blue and Jubilee Gold), velour-upholstered bucket seats with center console and so many standard features that there were only five available options, including the 460-ci engine for a final year. Essentially a one-car-per-dealer build, the Diamond Jubilee was in demand both for those who wanted to drive the top-end car and as a future collectible. With all that, it was only natural for the final year of the Mark V to have a similar package for its final year. Thus, the Collector’s Series.
Offered simultaneously on the Lincoln Continental Town Car, both Collector’s Series models lacked C-pillar opera windows. It wasn’t missed on the Continental (the base model didn’t have them), but the only other Mark V without the window was the faux-convertible Carriage Roof variant that premiered for 1978. Axing the opera window gave the car a much cleaner — dare I say, more mature — look. A lot of the unique trim bits of the Diamond Jubilee were carried over to the Collector’s Series, namely the bucket seats with center console. At least initially.
When introduced in the 1979 dealership brochures (actor Tom Selleck posed with the Mark V), both the Town Car and Mark V Collector’s Series were only offered in Midnight Blue Metallic with Midnight Blue velour interior. However, as the model year progressed, the colors and trims expanded; 2,040 Mark Vs were white, 125 silver and 197 Diamond Fire Blue. Some interiors were also fitted with dark blue and white leather bench seating as well. Since this was the final year of production, a desire to clear out existing parts inventory likely was a factor. Demand was high, so the 6,262 built were far from being dealership lot lizards.
Shifting perspectives
Within the past 15 years, Mark Vs have transitioned from depreciated used cars to economical auction “filler” cars, to bona-fide collector cars. This is especially true of low-mileage examples. More than Boomers who want a reminder of the past, the market is being driven by Millennials who weren’t even alive when these cars were built. While the Diamond Jubilees have usually been the top shelf for desirability and value, the 1979 Bill Blass Designer Series and the Collector’s Series have seen some marked increases this year. Despite their low production, a higher-than-average number have not only survived but are preserved — it’s not hard to find one. Recently, $65k to $75k was the ceiling for a delivery-miles-only Diamond Jubilee, while a similar Collector’s Series Mark V would have been $45k to $65k.
With that in mind, our subject car’s result is truly a case of the perfect storm, a great-condition car with low miles and an online presence that enticed strong bids. Listing the car without reserve also helped drive interest. At $50k with a half-hour remaining, logical step-up bids reached $90k with 14 minutes to go. Two minutes later, it cracked $100k, becoming a spectator sport to the peanut gallery. Slowly ratcheting up from there, the eventual $140k winning bid was placed with no further action in the remaining two minutes.
While we say that one sale does not make the market, this result does show a trend that we see throughout the industry. Even for a “Malaise Era” milestone, epitome examples of any car will sell with little regard for price-guide values. This one sold damned well.
