Most of these behemoths were powered by V8s ranging from 6.0 litres to 8.0 litres.
These were the last of their kind, though, owing to the 1973 oil crisis finally catching up with them.
Emissions regulations made a mockery of the largest engines – the 1975 Coupe de Ville had an 8.2-litre engine that was choked to an output of just 190bhp – and, as a result, capacities shrunk and the ludicrous body lengths, unable to be propelled at anything more than a frankly embarrassing crawl by these smaller motors, went with them.
As the sun rose on the 1980s, the land yacht was sunk. The last of the breed had a different character to them.
Maybe I’ve watched Goodfellas too many times, but I view them as having a somewhat villainous character to them, trading on past glories while ignoring their imminent demise in a world that was becoming too small for them.
Seeing land yachts anywhere is special, but seeing them in the UK is something else.
They look comically large, but I think it’s great that people love them enough to use them in an environment that’s orders of magnitude more cramped than they were designed for.
They’re so wildly inappropriate, so alien even in today’s world, that I can’t help cracking a smile whenever I see one.
