New York Auto Show: Lincoln Continental Concept: Comments

[William Maley]

---

Bringing back an iconic name plate is a tough thing to pull off. But Lincoln believes they can do it. Before the official start of the New York Auto Show on Wednesday, the luxury automaker pulled the sheets off the Continental Concept. Lincoln says this concept previews a new full-size luxury sedan that will go on sale in North America and China next year.

The overall look of the Continental Concept oddly reminds us of the Bentley Continental Flying Spur. The front end does away with the split wing grille that is common on current Lincoln models and replaces it with a new chrome centerpiece and glowing Lincoln emblem. On either side of the centerpiece are a set LED matrix headlamps, with laser-assist high-beams. Along the side are a set of 21-inch wheels and "E-Latch" handles that are discretely placed into the Continental's beltine. The back is wide and low, with a set of slim taillights and new exhaust tips.

Inside is a treat for the eyes with a fair bit of chrome trim, seats upholstered in Venetian leather and Alcantara; a satin headliner, and wool carpet. Front seat passengers get 30-way adjustments and adjustable bolsters to have the seat fit them perfectly. Back seat passengers get a wrath of luxuries such as a two-seat layout, tray tables, a champagne storage compartment, and handmade Venetian leather travel cases.

Lincoln says the concept is powered by a 3.0L EcoBoost V6, though power specs weren't released at this time. We also don't know if power is being sent to the front, rear, or all four wheels.

Source: Lincoln

Press Release is on Page 2

---

LINCOLN CONTINENTAL CONCEPT SHOWS THE FUTURE OF QUIET LUXURY AND UPCOMING FULL-SIZE SEDAN

• Elegant, effortlessly powerful and serene, the Lincoln Continental Concept signals the brand’s all-new full-size sedan coming next year and the future of quiet luxury
  
• Lincoln Continental Concept integrates technologies designed to create better drivers, rejuvenate and entertain passengers, including all-new, Lincoln-exclusive 3.0-liter EcoBoost® engine, patented 30-way seats and premium Revel audio system
  
• New Continental Concept introduces E-Latch door handles, LED matrix headlamps with laser-assist high beams and SPD SmartGlass® tinting sunroof
  
• NEW YORK, March 30, 2015 –Lincoln today introduces the Continental Concept, signaling an all-new full-size sedan coming next year and the future of quiet luxury.
  

Elegant, effortlessly powerful and serene, the Continental Concept blends meticulous craftsmanship and technologies designed to create better drivers and provide passengers with a more relaxing and entertaining environment inspired by first-class travel.

“Luxury at its best is about simplifying and quietly exceeding expectations, rather than being the loudest statement on the road,” said Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company president and CEO. “The Continental Concept showcases the promise of quiet luxury from Lincoln going forward. It also is a strong indication of what’s to come next year as we introduce our new Lincoln Continental full-size luxury sedan.”

With a sleek silhouette and a new centered chrome grille, the Continental Concept signals the arrival of a new face for Lincoln. A raised Lincoln badge is surrounded by a span of repeating polished aluminum Lincoln Star emblems.

E-Latch door handles tuck discreetly in the clean vehicle beltline. The door handle technology also provides for elegant entry. The doors open effortlessly with the touch of a button positioned on the underside of the door handle wings and close quietly.

“Some brands talk about ‘the machine,’ ” said Kumar Galhotra, Lincoln president. “Lincoln is different. For us, it is about more than the machine. It is about what our vehicles do for our clients.”

New technology is a hallmark of the vehicle. It starts with the vehicle sensing your approach and lighting up to greet you inside and out.

Outside, signature full-width tail lamps feature advanced light-through-chrome technology. Powerful LED matrix head lamps with laser-assist high beams reduce glare and improve visibility.

Rhapsody Blue metallic paint calls back Lincoln Continental’s signature color.

Inside are the brand’s most sensual materials ever, including Venetian leather seat and door panels, Alcantara® seat inserts and armrests, satin headliner and shearling wool carpet. Rose Gold trim around the instrument cluster provides warmth. Bright chrome trim on the instrument panel adds contrast.

Ambient lighting enhances the interior, creating a serene environment. Soft-gold LED lights glow from the center console and from the halo light overhead.

Patented 30-way Lincoln-designed seats use a new-to-market design that conforms to passengers’ sizes and shapes. The passenger-side rear seat can fully recline by moving the front passenger seat forward with the touch of a button.

From a panel mounted on the through-center console, rear passengers also can control climate settings and the Revel Ultima audio system, which allows passengers to select from three surround-sound modes: Stereo, Audience and On-Stage.

Rear-seat comfort is further highlighted by an SPD SmartGlass® tinting sunroof, which allows passengers to control heat from direct sunlight. With the touch of a button, the glass can cool the vehicle interior by as much as 18 degrees Fahrenheit, while blocking 99 percent of UV rays.

Rear-seat passengers also enjoy the convenience of a tablet-supporting lap tray that deploys from the through-center console. It also features a champagne storage compartment. Detachable, hand-crafted Venetian leather travel cases are mounted to the backside of the front seats.

Under the skin, the Continental Concept is powered by a Lincoln-exclusive 3.0-liter V6 EcoBoost® engine. It also features Lincoln Drive Control ride-enhancing technologies and Adaptive Steering. The car rides on polished-aluminum, painted-pocket 21-inch wheels.

Driver assist technologies include Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection, Enhanced Park Assist and a 360-degree camera that displays on the MyLincoln Touch™ screen.

“The Lincoln Continental name is associated with iconic beauty and elegance,” said David Woodhouse, Lincoln design director. “Capturing those qualities and building upon them drove us as we crafted this thoroughly modern sedan concept.”

The Lincoln Continental Concept is at the New York International Auto Show, which opens Wednesday for members of the news media.

View full article

[ZL-1]

[Drew Dowdell]

[Delta Force79]

I'm stunned, this thing is beautiful.  I love the subtle Lincoln emblem theme in the front fascia and lights.  The tail lights look awesome and wow that interior.  I've never been a fan of blue interiors but maybe it's the lack of them in cars today that makes this one stand out.  Either way I love it, those seats look great, and I know it wont make production but all that chrome is great.  It's a retro touch thats not something you see these days, and I love it.

 

I hope it stays as close to this as possible for production and keeps the name.  Cadillac the CT6 better really bring it now, and sadly I don't think it will.  At least not in the styling department, it's time for A&S to evolve some more, unless the CT6 is a sedan version of the Elmiraj I don't see it topping this.

[Drew Dowdell]

I see a bit of Bentley and Jaguar, yet it is distinctly American.  Bravo!

[G. David Felt]

Love the understated but clear luxury look of the outside. I am equally liking the design of the interior with one exception.

 

I hope they have a CHROME DELETE option for the dash.

 

This is a Reflection NIGHTMARE on a sunny day in the windshield when driving.

[G. David Felt]

I wonder if the back seat will have an option for these executive chairs or a bench seat? I would think a bench seat would be more commonly sold but I can see the need for this configuration also.

[regfootball]

lame.  this is no new direction.  Its a puffed up MKs meets MKz meets 'this is how Ford does Korean versions of Bentley' type stuff.  The interior is from 10 years ago and has all sort of tacky bling.

 

I can't believe people would criticize caddy and like this.

 

There's no length to this thing, no presence.  Avenir FAR better.

 

Current MKz is a pretty sexy car with a half ass warmed over Fusion interior.

 

Genesis, way better than this.

[Delta Force79]

lame.  this is no new direction.  Its a puffed up MKs meets MKz meets 'this is how Ford does Korean versions of Bentley' type stuff.  The interior is from 10 years ago and has all sort of tacky bling.

 

I can't believe people would criticize caddy and like this.

 

There's no length to this thing, no presence.  Avenir FAR better.

 

Current MKz is a pretty sexy car with a half ass warmed over Fusion interior.

 

Genesis, way better than this.

[aurora97]

I see a bit of Bentley and Jaguar, yet it is distinctly American.  Bravo!

 

There is a bit of Maserati in that design, too.  And as you say, still distinctly American.

 

Now all they need to do is launch an accompanying Mark X Coupe and all will be right with Lincoln again.

[smk4565]

The grille reminds me a bit of a Jaguar, but Jags are good looking cars, so I guess they are a good car to copy.  Overall I like it.  It looks good inside and out, looks expensive, Ecoboost engine seems to be standard, so all around quite good and I like the Lincoln emblem shapes in the grille.  I also love that they are using the Continental name.

 

I heard this is probably a FWD or AWD car though, if that is the case it will be no better than an Acura RLX, which is lame.  Hopefully they don't destroy a good design by building it on the Taurus platform.

[Drew Dowdell]

The grille reminds me a bit of a Jaguar, but Jags are good looking cars, so I guess they are a good car to copy.  Overall I like it.  It looks good inside and out, looks expensive, Ecoboost engine seems to be standard, so all around quite good and I like the Lincoln emblem shapes in the grille.  I also love that they are using the Continental name.

 

I heard this is probably a FWD or AWD car though, if that is the case it will be no better than an Acura RLX, which is lame.  Hopefully they don't destroy a good design by building it on the Taurus platform.

 

I'll look under it when I get to the show

[Drew Dowdell]

lame.  this is no new direction.  Its a puffed up MKs meets MKz meets 'this is how Ford does Korean versions of Bentley' type stuff.  The interior is from 10 years ago and has all sort of tacky bling.

 

I can't believe people would criticize caddy and like this.

 

There's no length to this thing, no presence.  Avenir FAR better.

 

Current MKz is a pretty sexy car with a half ass warmed over Fusion interior.

 

Genesis, way better than this.

 

There is length...look at the size of those doors.  I think the huge wheels are screwing up size visual and making the car appear smaller than it is. 

 

this is flagship material for Lincoln.

[smk4565]

I like it, I hope it looks close to that, obviously the production car won't have 21 inch wheels, probably 18 standard and maybe a 19 or 20 optional, but too big of wheels can make a car look odd.

[Paolino]

1)  Looks production ready, make it.

2)  Love the look.

3)  Love the interior.

4)  KEEP THE NAME

5)  Please do #4, I want classy names like Town Car, Continental, Park Avenue, DeVille, to return.

[balthazar]

I do like it a lot. It IS a bit rounded, I'm not quite saying it reminds me of the '90s, but the trend has been to sharper lines. F'ing the trends, I like it.

I would prefer a less fussy wheel, something more disc-like… the bottom'edge trim & rounded shape make it also look somewhat like a high speed highway car- disc wheels would complete that. Please keep the chromed bottom edge- SO much nicer than the unpainted black plastic on FAR too many vehicles in ALL segments today.

Looking forward to larger/ other pics.

[ocnblu]

I am a fan of this thing.  Blown away that Ford has waited this long to give Lincoln what it needs to bring itself back from the brink.  The only thing that could ruin it for me is a FWD chassis.  RWD with optional AWD is a MUST for this car.  The blue interior absolutely ROCKS... reminds me of the days when Lincoln and Cadillac were neck and neck for the luxury sales crown year after year, before the poseurs took over the market (M-B, BMW, Audi, Infiniti, Hyundai, Kia, and Toyota Crown  Lexus).

 

I do like the Buick Avenir better... but this is a splendid reincarnation of the Lincoln Continental.  Both the Buick and the Lincoln serve up plenty of the romance that has been missing from luxury car design for WAY TOO LONG... which has me more than a little bit concerned for the Cadillac CT6 (STUPID NAME)... will it be too stark?  Not enough "Art" and too much "Science"?  time will tell... tick tock, Cadillac.

Edited March 30, 2015 by ocnblu

[Robert Hall]

I wonder why it has a 3.0 V6 since the MKS has a 3.7 V6.  All in all I like the styling, wondering how it would look in production form...less chrome inside, smaller wheels.. I like the tail treatment in particular..not sure about the grille..better than the current motif, but not sure if it's particularly Lincolnesque..

[Drew Dowdell]

Rumor has it that it is on a Fusion chassis. 

The current MKS-EB comes with 20 inch wheels standard, so 20s on a Continental wouldn't be impossible. 

 

 

I wonder why it has a 3.0 V6 since the MKS has a 3.7 V6.  All in all I like the styling, wondering how it would look in production form...less chrome inside, smaller wheels.. I like the tail treatment in particular..not sure about the grille..better than the current motif, but not sure if it's particularly Lincolnesque..

 

The MKS 3.7 is naturally aspirated, the Continental is running a 3.0TT Ecoboost.   The MKS Ecoboost is a 3.5.   I would imagine, if power specs were released, that this is a newer version of the Ecoboost engine line that will leapfrog the current 3.5TT.   The new 2.7TT makes 325 horsepower and 375 lb-ft of torque so a 3.0TT version of this making 360 horsepower is almost a given.

[Robert Hall]

Makes sense. Sounds like the next generation of EcoBoost engines.

[Drew Dowdell]

I have updated the article with live shots from the show.  I'm sorry that a few were a bit blurry, I was getting pushed....

 

 

 

.... but I pushed back. 

[Drew Dowdell]

I plan to do a series of very high res shots of all of the releases from this show. It won't be as comprehensive as our normal shots, but I'm going to make them as big as I can without breaking the site. 

[Cory Wolfe]

Lincoln nailed the interior of this car. Truly feels like a flagship sedan as long as it doesn't stray too much for the production car.

 

The exterior is nice, but definitely has a "been done before" feel. The front clip doesn't really have any unique traits beyond the splattering of Lincoln emblem look-a-likes within the headlight and grill designs. Otherwise, very boring, almost old-Toyota-like in the lack of any design what-so-ever. The body... Let's be honest, is a rip-off of Bentley. Literally, line for line, it's nearly an exact copy. It doesn't look bad, as it and the Bentley it stole from have a stately presence, but it's been done. The rear is okay, I like the taillights and whatnot. Again, though, it doesn't feel special. 

[Drew Dowdell]

The tail lights have a neat effect. I can't post the picture at the moment, but when the tail lights are off, they become smooth chrome rather than red. I got a shot of it and when I go through my pictures tomorrow, I'll post it.

I'm heading to a Maxima event now.

[hyperv6]

Nice design but I am afraid it will be wasted on a FWD/AWD Ford platform. You would think they would have learned from GM in the 90's.

 

If they would do a proper REW/AWD and appoint it properly they could really get a much higher price and much more profit. They will do ok with what they have but they will leave a lot on the table.

 

I know there are two groups in Ford. One that wants to kill Lincoln and one that wants to save it. I hope the savers get enough support to keep it alive. We do not need to lose anymore name plates. At the rate Fiat is going I worry about Chrysler. Some Wall ST people say Chrysler is at risk in the next ten years. If they go down all that I could see saved would be Jeep and Ram.

 

The profits in the Luxury market are worth the risk Cadillac have approved and Ford should do the same. Profits from the new F 150 are not going to be as good as the old steel truck so they need to exploit this segment for more profits.

[G. David Felt]

I get the Feeling that FORD is thinking if Audi can do FWD/AWD and make money so can we. Sadly they do not have the recognition that Audi already has and as such they are going to have to build that with Lincoln.

[hyperv6]

Unless Ford is willing to invest in Lincoln as GM is doing in Cadillac they will remain a low end Luxury car with smaller profits.

 

At the least even if Cadillac stays at low volumes they will profit more with the higher price point in the long haul and make more money. In this segment being number one in volume as it is how much profit is reaped per model

 

Luxury cars are not all that more expensive to design and build but if you can sell the car for twice the price you will make more profits than any other segment. This price range gives a company so many more options.

Like sports cars it is easy to make a $500K sports car as but to make one for $30K is damn difficult and still turn a profit. 

 

[Rvinyl.com]

For the first time in a long time I actually like what I see in this new Town Car. I had more or less written Lincoln off but this may change things. I definitely see hints of Maserati and Jaguar so maybe the best is yet to come...