Less Than 2k Built: 2k Mile 1976 Lincoln Continental Mark IV Lipstick Edition
- November 06, 2020
Lincoln largely led the way for special edition vehicles in the 1970s with their Mark IV and Mark V designer series adding panache, exclusivity, and a premium price to an already stylish and expensive ride. Lincoln worked with top shelf designers like Pucci, Givenchy, Cartier, and Blass who ran their magic over the Marks by using special interior and exterior colors and trim pieces, as well as specific interior materials to create a sort of custom-tailored luxury car. Lincoln also built a few of their own special editions, such as the Blue Diamond, Black Diamond, and the Lipstick Edition. They sold relatively well, considering the pricing, giving customers something special that not everyone would have, the irony being that anyone who bought one would have very much the same car as the next customer. But no matter – there weren’t too many of any one of them built, so it wasn’t likely you’d run into your twin anytime soon.
It’s possible the most outlandish of them all was the Lipstick Edition. Available in white with red trim, or red with white trim, the interiors were the same all around – white with red appointments. It’s a funny fact that Lincoln struggled a bit to market the Lipstick Edition. In sales literature, the color theme was known as the “white-on-white Mark IV,” with “Lipstick red detail.” In other materials, Lincoln called it the “Lipstick and White Luxury Group,” a description that better served both cars, considering the red car wasn’t white anymore. Over time, it just became known as the Lipstick Edition, and either way it was painted, it was an attention getter and it took a very comfortable personality to drive one.
This one is absolutely remarkable – who would think that after all these years one would show up having covered only 2,199 miles. It’s such an original example that the rear seat belts are still wrapped in the factory plastic. The story is, the original owner bought it on May 22, 1976 at Schneider Lincoln-Mercury in St. Paul, Minnesota and the husband died less than a year after the purchase. The wife parked it in a climate controlled garage and never drove it for 20 years. The second owner kept it for about 25 years, again, stored away and kept on a battery tender. In August of 2020, the carburetor was rebuilt, the fluids were flushed, it was detailed and given the once over by a mechanic and now, here it is for sale. To be sold with the original bill of sale, window sticker, and various other documents, this Mark IV Lipstick Edition has to be one of the lowest mile examples in the world. Started and driven a couple of times a year, according to the seller, just to make sure everything is working as it should, the pictures show it looking very much as new.
Fewer than 2,000 Lipstick Editions were built in 1976, and Hagerty values a concours example at $28,100. It might seem high, but where else are you going to find another one like this? For a serious collector, this car says it all – exclusivity and rarity, ultra-low miles, and exquisite condition. The seller notes a few small chips and scratches in the paint, but stands by the claim that it is in fabulous shape overall and needs to be in a museum. We agree, but wherever it ends up, we hope the new owner takes it out once in a while so the rest of us can admire it.
