America’s Most Iconic ’60s Luxury Car Is Now Dirt Cheap

Few automotive legacies run as deep as American luxury. Long before European brands dominated the conversation, homegrown nameplates were setting the standard for effortless, boulevard-smoothing comfort — and one name above all others came to define that era. Think sweeping sheetmetal, whisper-quiet cabins, and enough chrome to blind a passing cyclist. The Lincoln Continental was that luxury car: a rolling statement of understated power that looked equally at home outside a Palm Beach country club or idling in front of a New Jersey safe house. What makes the story even better today is the price tag. Once the preserve of the well-heeled, these magnificent land yachts have tumbled so far down the depreciation curve that genuine icons are now within reach of almost any enthusiast.

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Using expert sources such as Hagerty, HotCars went in search of the ultimate bargain ’60s luxury car.

The Lincoln Continental Coupe Is ’60s Style On The Cheap

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Founded

1917

Founder

Henry M. Leland & Wilfred Leland

Headquarters

Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.

1966 Fourth-Generation Lincoln Continental Coupe Specs

Source: Lincoln

The fourth-generation Lincoln Continental is quite simply an icon of the ’60s. Flower power, The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jagger in a fur coat — these are all distinctive images of the swinging decade. The Lincoln Continental of that era was right up there too, with styling as sharp and honest as a Brooks Brothers suit. The fourth-generation model said goodbye to the jukebox styling of the ’50s. Out went the two-tone, bubblegum colors and acres of chrome that personified luxury cars of the previous decade, replaced by the Continental’s crisp lines, restrained proportions, and a palette where black, gray, and white reigned supreme.

The Continental Was Initially Only Offered As A Sedan Or Convertible

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The fourth-gen Continental arrived in 1961, with the model line beginning in the ’40s, and customers had a choice of sedan or four-door convertible bodystyle, the latter featuring a power roof. Under the hood sat a 7.0-liter V8 with a two-barrel Carter carburetor producing 300 horsepower. In 1966, Ford introduced a new body style to the Lincoln Continental lineup. The two-door coupe was a welcome addition, and while it sold reasonably well through the fourth generation’s retirement in 1969, it remains the bargain buy of the range today.

The Continental Had Plenty Of High-Tech Features

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Like the sedan and convertible, the Continental coupe came loaded with lavish options. High-tech features for the era included a tape player, automatic climate control, auto-dimming headlights, front-seat headrests, and a heated rear defroster. For the 1966 model year, the Continental received a more powerful 7.6-liter V8 producing 340 horsepower. In January 1968, that engine gave way to a new corporate 7.5-liter V8, rated at 365 hp.

Here’s How Much A Fourth-Generation Lincoln Continental Coupe Costs Today

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Fourth-Generation Lincoln Continental Coupe Prices

• 1966 Lincoln Continental Coupe: $16,020
• 1968 Lincoln Continental Coupe: $14,000
• 1969 Lincoln Continental Coupe: $9,499

Source: Classic.com (No data available for 1967)

Even today, in an era when the sporty SUV rules the streets, these low-slung ’60s land yachts look great. The Continental’s styling defines an era, and these are the perfect cruisy classics — not too showy, not too conservative. If you want to get the keys to a ’60s Continental, which bodystyle you choose will very much depend on how much you have to spend.

For example, anyone looking for a 1961 Continental — when the car was available only in sedan and convertible bodystyles — will need to part with an average of $90,877. Some convertibles from that year have sold for more than $350,000. But what if we told you that you could get pretty much the same car for less than $10,000?

Certain ’60s Continentals Can Be Had For A Fraction Of The Price Of Early Cars

If you look at later cars, in particular the coupes, prices are dramatically different. The overall average price for the 1966 to 1969 coupes is a paltry $13,622 (classic.com). Fine-tune your search further and you could find a Continental coupe for even less. The final 1969 cars are distinguished by a new, more pronounced grille with cooling vents underneath — a subtle but useful identifier when hunting for a deal.

To really get a cheap ’60s Continental, this is the model to seek out. According to Classic.com, these cars carry an average asking price on the secondhand market of around $9,499. Proof is in this single-family-owned 1969 Lincoln Continental Coupe, with 63,000 miles on the clock, which sold for just $9,270 in 2024. Looks like someone out there got the deal of the century. Lincoln Continentals are also a great cheap base for a restomod, too.

Fourth-Gen Lincoln Continentals Sold Like Hotcakes

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According to Hagerty, the fourth-generation Lincoln Continental was a hit, selling 21,560 units — including 2,857 convertibles — in its first year of production. The following year the car sold even better, with Ford shifting 27,849 sedans and 3,212 convertibles. As those numbers show, convertibles remained relatively rare in each model year, which explains their elevated prices on the collector market today. For 1963, sedan sales climbed further to 28,095, while convertibles dipped slightly to 3,138.

The Coupe Helped To Keep The Continental Sales Moving

By the time the coupe arrived in 1966, sedan sales were climbing higher still, with Lincoln moving 35,809 that year. Convertibles held fairly steady at 3,180, while the new two-door got off to a strong start at 15,766 units. By 1968, interest was beginning to wane, with 29,719 sedans and 9,415 coupes built; by 1969, those figures stood at 29,351 sedans and 9,032 coupes.

There Is Another Classic Lincoln Selling For Dirt Cheap

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If you fancy something with a little more ’70s kitsch, look no further than the Lincoln Continental Mark IV, which debuted for the 1972 model year. This car came only in two-door coupe form, and you would be hard-pressed to find anything else at this price that makes you look more like a ’70s mobster on the rise. Almost everything about the Mark IV is unnecessary — and that’s precisely why we love it.

There is the Acropolis-style Rolls-Royce grille, the opera windows on the C-pillars, the rear wheel arch pressed into the trunk lid, the diving-board overhangs — it looks as though Liberace was called in as design consultant. Toward the end of the Mark IV’s run, four “Designer Series” editions appeared, created in collaboration with Bill Blass, Cartier, Givenchy, and Pucci. You certainly couldn’t accuse the Mark IV of lacking a sense of humor.

The Lincoln MKIV Is An Extremely Cheap Classic

Via Mecum Auctions

These cars are practically being given away. A 1972 model in good condition (unlike this one that turned up in a barn) is valued at around $11,300, according to Hagerty Valuation Tools, with a 1973 coming in at roughly $9,300. For the absolute ultimate in bling, consider the 1974 Lincoln Continental Mk IV Gold Luxury, complete with Gold Diamond Fire paint, a gold vinyl roof, and gold carpet throughout — trunk included. Hagerty values that one at around $10,300. Here’s how much a later Mark V Continental will cost.

Sources: Classic.com; Hagerty.com