This car just out of the barn, rom a mans collection. 61,555 original miles We did the basics, ut in a new battery, lushed the old fuel, nd she fired up, nd goes down the road. Runs and drives and shifts as it should. Needs buffed and waxed, he interior cleaned, ct, nd new tires. But after you do the basics, he car should be back to her original glory. The car is in remarkable original shape, ith no rust and the paint and interior are very nice. The pictures should tell the rest. She is available for a personal inspection. Below are the sats, n the lipstick. there were only somewhere between, 0 to 100 ever built. Some were white and many less red, ith the special Red white interior. (so between 25 and 50 of these)And here we have a original, arn find, hat needs cleaned up and a set of tires. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. The 1976 Lincoln Continental Mark IVThe 1974-1975 Lincoln Continental Mark IV models may not have been a big success, ut they were only a warm-up for 1976. This was the first year for the successful Designer Series options.There were four in all, ach named for a famous fashion mogul who allegedly had a hand in creating it: Bill Blass, Hubert) Givenchy (Emilio) Pucci, nd Cartier. Of course, artier was a jeweler, ot a couturier, ut who cared?Despite a $1,500-$2,000 premium, he Designer Series was an instant hit, ccounting for more than a quarter of 1976-model sales, hich recovered to 56,110.And that wasn't the end of it. Though the Gold and Silver groups were dropped, he Lipstick and Blue Diamond were joined by four new treatments: Gold/Cream, ed/Rose, ight/Dark Jade, nd Jade/White.More exclusive still were three Spring Editions introduced in March: Black Diamond, ipstick/White, nd Desert Sand. No production figures are available for those, ut it's estimated that only 50-100 of each were built. (There was also a Black Diamond group for the big Continentals.)Announced at the 1976 Detroit Auto Show, he $1,064 "Black Diamond" option wore Black Diamond Fire metallic paint that could be set off with optional silver pinstriping and black premium body side moldings.The oft-chosen black padded roof had "Cayman-grain" vinyl that looked like patent leather and was used only on the top's rear quarter. Full-length "Normande" vinyl also was available.The interior could be all-black with leather or crushed velour and patent-leather assist straps on the backs of the front seats. For those who thought black too funereal, ove gray was available with either leather-and-vinyl or Versailles velour.The Lipstick/White group combined white or Lipstick Red paint with a landau roof carrying Lipstick Red Cayman vinyl on the aft quarter. The interior was white leather-and-vinyl, ith Lipstick Red assist straps. Those straps and the Cayman vinyl top distinguish this option from previous Lipsticks.More involved was the Desert Sand, hich was tan on body sides and rear deck, nd dark-brown metallic on nose, ood, he very tops of the doors, nd around the rear windows. Discreet pinstripes separated the colors. The all-vinyl roof was also tan, ut there may have been a rear landau roof with tan or dark-brown metallic paint on the front.The interior offered a choice of dark-brown crushed velour or saddle leather-and-vinyl. Like other 1976 Spring Editions, his one also had assist straps.Last, ut not least, as the "Silhouette" package, hich saw just 200 installations. Supposedly created to honor the 1976 presidential election, his was probably finished in black only, ith a black rear landau roof, ed body pinstripes, nd a black or red interior.Opera windows were blocked out, eplaced by "Silhouette" script, nd brushed stainless steel adorned the front of the roof.With so much lily-gilding, he 1976 Mark IV had to be the most consciously fashionable car since Kaiser's early-1950s Dragons. But it was a nice way to end a banner four-year run of 278/599 units, single-model Mark record. (The successor Mark V would sell even better for 1977-1979, hough.)While some of those trim options were undeniably gauche, he Mark IV appealed to a whole new breed of luxury-car buyer. In so doing, t made Lee lacocca a Dearborn hero once more......................................................++++++.note, have now updated several more detailed pictures of this rare lipstick. Please take a look. +++
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