Car Spot: 1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V Diamond Jubilee Edition

The longest two-door coupe Ford ever marketed …

The Lincoln brand has always been all about luxury and this week’s spot is no exception. In the late 1970s and ’80s a new segment popped up, personal luxury cars and they were huge profit makers for the manufacturers and even more with specialty releases like this Diamond Jubilee Edition. It celebrated Ford’s 75th anniversary in 1978.

This car came with every option available. A huge 7.5-liter V8, dual exhaust, power steering, and four-wheel disc brakes. To say it was luxurious inside was an understatement. A whole herd of cattle gave their lives for this car. It came with a leather-bound owner’s manual and matching tool kit, a leather dashboard, and all leather or ebony wood-tone accents. Kick your shoes off and you will lose your toes in the 36 oz. Tiffany cut-pile carpet, which also lines the trunk. That was an option only on the Diamond Jubilee.

Other over-the-top options included a console umbrella, Astro moonroof, full-size dual stripe spare, front bucket seats in Wedgewood Blue luxury cloth with the Wedgewood blue broadlace inserts. Other fine touches consisted of beveled instrument panel lenses, beveled opera windows with Diamond Jubilee Edition spelled out in gold script, and a simulated diamond used to dot the “i” in Diamond. It also came with a Cartier Chronometer. Don’t you dare call it a clock! All this for $21,791, a whopping $92,383 in 2023 dollars!

So what are they worth now? There were 5,159 Jubilee’s made, 2,602 in Diamond Blue, and only 1,511 with the optional moonroof like this one, so surprisingly not a lot. This was a daily driver so I’d say it’s worth around $5 grand being in Fair condition according to Hagerty. But even in Good condition, they’re only valued at $12,000, Excellent at $25,200, and Concours at $43,500. Think what this much luxury would cost now and what you would get, or not get. We’ve reviewed Mercedes-Benzs and BMWs that don’t have all this stuff, although a lot more electronics.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out this spot. I hope you had a great Thankksgiving. Come back next Friday for another one of my spots along with some of its history. Tell your friends and have a great weekend.