When the folks at Ford found a winning formula with the ’72-76 Continental Mark IV, they weren’t about to mess with it for the ’77 Mark V.

Bill Blass Designer Series

While the Ford Motor Company’s Lincoln brand has known some critical acclaim over the years, the Continental Mark IV was its first great commercial success. (See our feature on the ’72-’76 Mark IV here.) The personal luxury coupe outsold its chief rival in the category, the Cadillac Eldorado, allowing Lincoln to pass the 100,000-vehicle mark in annual volume for the first time. So when the time came to replace the Mark IV with the Mark V for 1977, Ford and Lincoln-Mercury senior management were careful to tread lightly. You don’t tamper with a winning recipe.

There were a few tweaks. Vice president of styling Gene Bordinat was never crazy about former CEO Bunkie Knudsen’s final choice for the Mark IV’s exterior design, finding it too rounded and voluptuous for a big coupe. He had the curves replaced with creases, sharpening up the look, so all the exterior sheet metal was new. However, the classic Rolls-style grille and  simulated spare tire bump remained. Conceived by product chief Lee Iacocca for the 1969 Continental Mark III, they were the Mark series’ key visual identifiers.

Givenchy Designer Series

While the Mark’s body-on-frame chassis and 120.4-in wheelbase was carried over, slightly greater overhangs increased the overall length 2.2 inches to an imposing 230.3 inches. But meanwhile, curb weight was reduced to 4,652 lbs, roughly a 400 lb savings. The comprehensive diet plan included swapping out the massive 385-series V8 with 460 cubic inches for the more compact 400M V8 (335 series) with 400 CID and 179 hp. Why? The federal government’s fleet Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements were now in effect, even for the giant luxury cruisers. And just for the record, the Mark V was rated at 12 mpg city, 19 mpg highway.

Bill Blass (left) and Givenchy Designer Series interiors

The winning formula included the Designer Series models introduced in 1976, the Mark IV’s final year. For the ’77 Mark V, the celebrity roster: Bill Blass, Cartier, Hubert G. Givenchy, and Emilio Pucci. In practice, Lincoln styling personnel submitted proposals on exterior colors and interior trim to the fashion celebrities, who reportedly made the final selections. The Designer Series editions gave the Mark V buyer an additional level of exclusivity while providing a tidy markup for the Lincoln-Mercury division as well—$1,600 to $2,100 over the $11,396 base price.

Cartier Designer Series 

The cautiously executed update was certainly successful, as sales rose 43 percent to more than 80,000 cars, providing 42 percent of the Lincoln brand’s total volume for the ’77 model year. Sales remained strong for the following two years of the Mark V’s three year run, too, for a total of 228,262 cars. In fact, of all the eight Mark Series cars (seven Continentals and one Lincoln) from 1940 to 1998, the Mark V is the best selling Mark in Ford Motor Company history.