Jay Leno featured his 1958 Continental MKIII in the latest episode of Jay Leno's Garage. He bought it down in Florida after it was sitting for years; the comedy legend says that it's so unattractive it's appealing.
Continental was its own brand at that time, and therefore the Mark III shares nothing with Lincolns that came before or after. "It's everything we don't do anymore: huge cars, huge engines."
The Mark III was the most powerful luxury car in 1958 and the fastest, featuring a 430-cubic-inch V8 making 375 hp with a three-speed automatic transmission. It took just over eight seconds to get to 60 mph, which was fast at a time when most cars took 10. The fuel mileage? A robust 10.3 mpg.
Leno spends the first third of the episode talking about the vehicle in his shop and then takes it for a spin, as is customary.
Enjoy. You know you have 30 minutes to kill!
