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Unveiled: The Lincoln Continental Concept – There Might Be A Pulse Left At Lincoln After All


Unveiled: The Lincoln Continental Concept – There Might Be A Pulse Left At Lincoln After All

(Photos: Ford Motor Company) Ford’s got this “hide the concept until the last freaking minute” thing down pat. First was the Ford GT, and now this, the Lincoln Continental concept car that was unveiled in time for the New York Auto Show. While I will say that I’m disappointed that we aren’t getting a two-door hot rod Lincoln, the fact that there’s a concept car at all from the company, let alone one that is a preview of a production car that will appear next year , is nothing short of stunning. Lincoln has long been on the automotive world’s Death Watch list, especially since the Town Car and it’s strong fleet and limo sales disappeared. The current big Lincoln car, the MKS, is essentially Taurus Titanium…there’s a touch of upscale compared to the Ford version, but there isn’t any difference, really, except for the flying mustache grille and the heavier price.

Lincoln Continental ConceptThis, however, is a reach in a good direction and shows that there might be a life to Lincoln after all. It took a lot of shoving from Chinese buyers who wanted a larger car to get the Continental concept done and we don’t doubt that the company realized that something needed to be done to rejuvenate sales in the U.S. While you can pinpoint styling cues all around the car that are cribbed from other vehicles (a Jaguar-like front end, Audi-like headlights, a Bentley-like shape at the rear and the overall presence that puts it in line with the Chrysler 300C, there’s plenty to nod towards Lincoln’s heritage. The Lincoln Star is prominent in the grille, though we’d have rather seen a grille design similar to the 2004 Mark X concept car.

mark x

2004 Mark X Concept 

 

Apparently blue is the color choice for all of Ford’s unveiling concepts, but the Continental wears a classic Lincoln color, Rhapsody Blue. The wheels are striking enough, and we assume are meant to emulate the Lincoln turbine wheel design to some degree, but they also appear to be more of the “concept” than the production car. Electronic door handles, similar to a Tesla’s, stay flush with the body until needed, giving the Continental the appearance of shaved door handles, and out back the stately rear treatment is augmented by four exhaust tips that actually give the Lincoln a slightly menacing appearance from the rear.  Noticeably absent is the spare tire hump, the classic Continental trademark.

 

continental rearInside the car the designers went absolutely berserk. People who dislike black and gray interiors can rejoice, the Continental is finished in a matching blue leather. There are trick elements to the interior that we can’t say will or won’t make it to the production version, including the rear seat table and the leather “travel cases” in the setbacks. We also doubt that the champagne holder in the console will make it, but hell, surprise us. We hope the chromed-out center stack of the dash gets toned down some for production, but overall, this looks like an awesome place to be in. Just look at the carpeting in the back…We haven’t seen interior carpeting that thick since the mouse-fur carpeting in McTaggart’s Imperial! Lincoln’s press release seems to guide the idea of the Continental as a smooth, quiet car that is almost better as a passenger car than it is as a driver’s car, which is a nod to the Chinese, who view being chauffeured around as one of the ultimate pinnacles of luxury. It also shows that Lincoln isn’t trying to be thirty thousand things at once, which is smart considering their current position.

conti interior Lincoln Continental Concept

What’s not really known yet is what underpins the Continental. We do know that the Lincoln has a bespoke 3.0L EcoBoost V6, but we don’t know if this car is rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive or …well, disappointing. Our suspicion is that the concept Continental is sitting on a modified Taurus platform with all-wheel drive, but there’s strong rumors that the production Continental would appear on a modified Fusion platform and employ some of the AWD tricks that appear on the Focus RS. Which, if you read the tea leaves a little, might open up the idea of a Fusion RS…and we like where that is going.

It’s a gamble for Ford, who even as recently as a couple of years ago was thinking of killing off the brand, but if this isn’t an out-and-out home run it certainly is one hell of a step towards the right direction. So far, most of the early feedback seems positive. That means this year alone, Buick and Lincoln, two of the most ignored brands in America, had great hits with their big sedans, and Cadillac is about to unleash their CT6 any second now. Sensing a trend here? We do.

Lincoln Continental Concept


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24 thoughts on “Unveiled: The Lincoln Continental Concept – There Might Be A Pulse Left At Lincoln After All

  1. Tedly

    It’s not blowing my mind, but I’ll give you that it as a big step in the right direction. If it’s got some balls to it this might actually be something. It’ll be interesting to see how the classic American road sofas evolve over the next few years.

    1. ColoradoKid

      Definitely . In fact … too much in my opinion . Fact is Im wondering if Fords designers didn\’t get their Continentals .. confused . Along with an unhealthy dose of Chrysler 300C .

      So … is it better looking than the previous design language ? Why yes it is . But can blatant Xerox Cut&Paste [ Ford been taking design lessons from Hyundai/KIA lately ? ] copying ever be considered … good ?

      As to the rest of the car ? A little disconcerting that 99% of the propaganda Ford/Lincoln is releasing about the car is about bling [ 21 inch wheels etc ] and aesthetics . With other than the EconSnooze under the hood [ that will have all the appeal of a turbo 4 in a C7 to the potential buyer of this car ] .. nary a single mention of … the platform [ RWD ..AWD … FWD ? ] and the mechanics .

      e.g. All show and zero substance . With all bets being it is nothing more than yet another rebadged Ford underneath …. this time a Taurus .. in a Lincoln party dress … at BMW/Mercedes prices no doubt

      So my overall conclusion ? Assuming this ever makes it to production … its another Lincoln failure in the making .

      Damn … maybe it IS time Ford put the Lincoln division to rest … seeing as how building anything even vaguely resembling luxury … especially American luxury seems to be out of Fords skill set of late

      Oh well … at least Ford can take consolation in the fact that despite having more sales than Lincoln … Cadillac is losing GM money hand over fist …

      😉

      1. Tedly

        I’ll give you that i haven’t heard anything about platform, drivetrain, etc… I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now. The looks aren’t knocking my socks off, but their not making me heave either. I’t got a nice shape. I would have been much happier with some of the design concepts I’ve seen floating around, but oh well. Let’s see what the big girl is made of before completely dismissing it.

        1. ColoradoKid

          Potential Litigation Alert !!!

          Uh ohhhhhh …. it now seems like Bentley is on the rampage over this ! Bentleys engineers and designers asking Ford across the net if they like all the tool and dies sent direct or to a supplier .

          And errr … knowing the Evil Empire known as VW-Audi like I do [ my personal nickname for them being the BORG ] ..

          Any bets threats of lawsuits and copyright/design infringement charges begin flowing out of VW-Audis legal department like water during a Colorado spring melt off ?

          This …. could get ugly ! Lincolns designers like I said elsewhere … severely getting their Continentals confused .. so anything thrown their way litigation wise …. will be well deserved

          Damn it Ford ! Either FIX Lincoln .. or bring it to an end …. But don\’t pull an H/K blatantly copying someone elses design … especially someone else with much deeper pockets and a whole lot more attitude than you !

  2. Nick D.

    Not the Mk8 successor I was hoping for but it’s nice. Not real drastic styling but it shows that maybe Lincoln still has a pulse

  3. mooseface

    I like it.
    It’s got style, even if a great deal of it was borrowed from Bentley. Regardless, it’s classy, and they should keep this deep blue as the base color and never offer silver, white, or black.
    This is a car I’d happily admire from a distance.

    1. ColoradoKid

      Actually its a car from a distance you\’d be wondering in the hell it was ? A Bentley ? .. Chrysler 300C ? … Some new Hyundai/KIA quasi luxury wanna be ? … a Chinese knockoff posing as a Bentley ? etc etc etc .

      Fact is what it reminded me of the first I saw this yesterday on the web was that old Chevy Chase / Steve Martin … \” What the hell is that ? \” … routine …. from the classic SNL era … 😉

      1. Nick D.

        Definitely seeing a lot of Bentley Continental in the front of it, which is kind of fitting.

        1. ColoradoKid

          In light of all the hell we went thru booting them pesky Brits the heck outta here [ apologies Mad Chevy Hating Geordie ] … Im thinking making what should of been an American Hot Rod luxury car look more like a British aristocracy toff mobile is a bit … hmmmn .. errr …. inappropriate at best !

          By the way … Bentley used the name first so …. nahh … lets not be copying the looks as well as the moniker 😉

          1. Nick D.

            Luc Donckerwolke, Bentley Chief of Design, is apparently none too pleased. He has gone on the record as saying ““I would have called it Flying Spur concept and kept the four round lights” and asked David Woodhouse, Lincoln Chief Of Design, “Do you want us to send the product tooling?”

  4. jeff

    Coming from a Ford guy…It’s, um, busy. The wheels are awful. Other than that, the outside looks fine. Very Bentley-esque. But that interior tho…..It’s busy. Overload of the senses. Each of the seats look like a double seat. Looks like grandpa put his truck stop seat cushions on all of the seats. Lots of blue too. Reminds me of the 80’s cars with their super plush red velvet and blue crushed interiors. Too much. Lots of chrome inside too…just begging for fingerprints and all kinds of other nastiness. Looks cool in pictures, but the constant cleaning off of fingerprints would drive me nuts. Kudos to Lincoln for actually trying something different though. Hopefully it’s got some guts. A car like this without any power is a complete failure. Should be a 350-400HP Ecoboost, or even a revamped Coyote. All wheel drive is a must.

  5. Mercury Man

    Thank God it does not have a Black interior and has a normal name instead of some MKZXQ!
    The wheels suck big time, but that is an easy fix. Make it AWD with an Ecoboost and it should sell.
    I don’t miss the hump on the trunk although it would simulate a ” life preserver”

  6. Matt Cramer

    I think ditching their “Continental hump” was definitely the right choice. Nowadays you can’t be too sentimental.

      1. Matt Cramer

        Was wondering how long it would take before somebody would get the reference. That didn’t take long. 🙂 This Continental may be the first time one’s anywhere close to a best bet since that song came out.

  7. The Crusty Autoworker

    While I find this car to be very nice looking in a conservative sort of way, I also find it reminds me very much of an Audi A8, not a 300c or Bentley.
    I really feel the Lincoln flagship should be more distinctively Lincoln, but in an equally conservative way. For my money I still prefer what Caddy is doing styling wise …setting their own look, rather than copying what worked for others.

    1. ColoradoKid

      See my #10 post …flip over to the link … and then tell me the Lincoln isn\’t a dead ringer for the Bentley Continental .. down to almost every fine detail … which errr … by the way …. is an Audi A8 * underneath … so you\’re not entirely wrong .. but still

      [ * Audi badge engineering 101 ; Audi A8 = VW Phaeton = Bentley Continental ( and the GT ) = Porsche Panamera ]

  8. ColoradoKid

    I thought from memory alone this Lincoln was practically a carbon copy of the Bentley . And then … I just ran into this side by side photo comparison ;

    http://jalopnik.com/well-he-s-not-wrong-1694758502

    [ scroll to AdmiralAkbars comment and photos ]

    Good god ! Carbon copy ? Hell … it is a damn Bentley with Lincoln badges stuck on it .

    Pathetic if you ask me

      1. ColoradoKid

        Yup Nick … methinks its obvious . Ford/Lincoln …. effed up …. big time ! In the very worst and most blatant of ways .

        So … the question we hoped was being answered was ; Does Lincoln still have a pulse ?

        In my opinion … after this travesty of epic proportions … the answer is …. Lincoln is brain dead … and Dead Man Walking

        Jeeze … looking over both articles I still cant get over right down to the smallest freaking detail how much of the Bentley Lincolns designers did blatantly and willingly copy to a tee .

  9. ColoradoKid

    Wanna know whats finally got me laughing my ___ off about this ? Looking at TTAC and autoline.tv and the ensuing comments … while 95% of us here caught on right away on what a flagrant Bentley Continental copy this thing is .. not one solitary comment on either of the other two so called … Automotive Industry News sites even makes mention of the similarities

    Which tells me either ;

    A) Everyone participating on those sites are a bunch of very blind lemmings ..

    or …

    B) Both sites are severely editing /censoring any potential critical comments due to them both having become corporate arschekussens [ Austrian .. but a quick glance gives the clue what it means * ]

    Which is to say .. Bryan , Bryan and my other brother [ ______ ? ] .. any minor mistakes .. historical errors etc y\’all might make …. aint barely a drop in the bucket compared to both TTAC as well as autoline.tv … both having obviously morphed into blatant Industry/Corporate Shills of late

    Oh well … thats ok .. we still got you guys … and according to my insider sources autoline.tv is not long for this world on PBS … and TTAC is on life support !

    So all is [ and will be ] forgiven … BangShift…. stay weird … and more importantly … stay independent … Selling your soul and/or your birthright for a few gold coins or a lousy bowl of soup isnt worth the price you will pay in the long run

    * FYI; The literal translation of the word/idiom is ; One who crawls up the ___ of someone in power in order to gain favor from that person .

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