This question was prompted when I saw pictures of the white ’76 Olds 98 coupe (below left) posted on Cohort.
Was it the greatest of the mega-coupe era (1971-1979)?
And the answer was a little surprising.
First, the fact that we are looking at coupe versions of these cars is arbitrary and irrelevant, in the sense that they are the same length as their four-door counterparts.
But two-door coupes tend to emphasize the length of their rear ends, and there’s just something particularly exaggerated about a coupe of this length.
The other reason I chose a coupe is that I just assumed the longest production car of any in 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″
The surprising loser in this match.
1975 Oldsmobile 98 Coupe: 232.4″
1975 Imperial & 1976 Chrysler New Yorker: 232.7″
It’s impressively large, but the 1974 Imperial had its wheelbase shortened by 3″ to 124″ from previous years in order to share more of its underpinnings with the Chrysler.
I suspected Continental might end up winning this match, but no such luck.
It is pure bulk, it makes it look the most massive.
This may come as a bit of a surprise, but the Buick’s sloping rear fender blades are probably the reason it’s the largest of the GM C-bodies.
Imperial 1973: 235.3 inches
Imperial takes the cake, in more ways than one.
Frankly, it seems a bit too big for its mounts, especially the very heavy front end.
And its tight-fitting coupé roof makes the trunk look almost absurd.
But if you want 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 #3 in this battle of the behemoths.
Which makes the 1973 Imperial the longest regular mass-produced sedan/coupe ever.
It looks like a mid-sized coupe is crammed into a huge undercarriage.
And if LeBaron wears his crown a little strangely, he wears it proudly.