This question was raised when I saw pictures of a white 1976 Olds 98 coupe (below left) posted on Cohorta.
Was it the biggest of the mega-coupe era (1971-1979)?
And the answer was a bit of a surprise.
First, the fact that we’re looking at coupe versions of these cars is arbitrary and irrelevant, in the sense that they’re the same length as their four-door counterparts.
But two-door coupes tend to emphasize the length of their rear ends, and there’s something particularly exaggerated about a coupe this long.
The other reason I chose coupes was that I simply assumed the longest production car of this era was the Cadillac Fleetwood 60/Brougham, due to its stretched wheelbase, 133 inches compared to the Coupe DeVille’s mere 130 inches.
More on that later, after we rank these six coupes.
1974-1976 Cadillac Coupe De Ville: 230.7″
A surprise loser in this competition.
1975 Oldsmobile 98 Coupe: 232.4″
1975 Imperial and 1976 Chrysler New Yorker: 232.7″
It’s impressively large, but the 1974 Imperial had its wheelbase shortened by 3 inches to 124 inches from previous years, to share more of its underpinnings with the Chrysler.
I suspected that the Continental might end up winning this competition, but I was out of luck.
Due to its large volume, it still looks the most massive.
This might come as a bit of a surprise, but the Buick’s sloping rear fender blades are probably the reason it’s the largest of GM’s C-bodies.
1973 Imperial: 235.3″
Imperial takes the cake, in more ways than one.
To be honest, it looks a little too big for its base, especially the very heavy front.
And its tight-fitting coupe roof makes the trunk look almost absurd.
But if you like excess at the ends, the Imp is your car.
And the big surprise is that it’s not just the biggest coupe in the country.
It turns out that the Fleetwood 60/Brougham sedan is only 233.7 inches long, which would make it only third in this battle of the giants.
Which makes the 1973 Imperial the longest regular mass production sedan/coupe ever.
It looks like the mid-size coupe has slipped into a huge undercarriage.
And if LeBaron wears his crown a little oddly, he wears it proudly.