16 Secrets Of The Lincoln Continental Concept
Details, From the Engine You'll See to the Fab Lighting Features You Won't
Fans of Ford's luxury brand got what they've been waiting for with the debut of the Lincoln Continental Concept at the New York Auto Show. Here's a closer look at some of the concept's cool features and whether you'll see them on the production vehicle.
The Continental name is back, in modern block letters, on the fender of the concept. Lincoln's design staff debated about whether Continental should return in cursive script or block letters. They ended up with the latter. Which would you prefer?
Although this is a concept a new turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 EcoBoost engine, exclusive to Lincoln, will debut in the production version.
The split wing or mustache grille is gone, in favor of a more traditional upright grille, trimmed in chrome with a "plinth" that supports the Lincoln badge.
Love the deep blue paint of the Continental concept? The shade is called Rhapsody Blue, a nod to George Gershin's famous jazz/classical composition "Rhapsody in Blue" - which you might also recognize as the theme song to another American icon, United Airlines.
That Lincoln star on the grille is backed by a lighting element that fades on. It's a neat detail that won't see production due to motor vehicle laws in many markets in which the Continental is to be sold.
In the specially designed "approach sequence" the Lincoln star in the grille fades on first, followed by the LED light tubes in the headlamps and fog lamps. To finish, five LED "ice-cubes" in each headlamp, which are also shaped like miniature Lincoln stars, turn on sequentially, quadrant by quadrant.
"We're known for full width taillamps, it's a Lincoln signature," says Lincoln's head of design, David Woodhouse. "The center read tail lamp is this infinity light. If you look into it, it kind of goes forever."
Notice there are no handles on the smooth sides? The replacements are four chromed wings sprouting from the beltline that are elegant both in look and operation. Lincoln calls the system "E-latch" and the doors release via a push button under each upturned wing.
Continental concept showcases a new 30-way adjustable seat developed in-house by Ford engineers. The seats are not only heated and cooled, they use 11-air bladders and unique elastomer suspended wings to cradle and massage the driver and passengers. The lower cushion is split to allow for independent thigh support.
The Lincoln design team evaluated rear-opening "suicide" doors, but ended up with traditional doors that open extra wide - nearly 90 degrees - because they wanted to showcase the luxurious back seat.
Look at the arches above the 21-inch wheels, notice any interesting light play? Woodhouse and team gave them some love: "In the flats around the wheel cuts we added S-cuts. In here you get light puddling and reflection - more attention than you get on any other car."
Like the windows on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger jet, the sunroof of the Continental uses electrochromic glazed glass to block sunlight. Lincoln's Woodhouse says it's future of luxury cars because it removes the complexity of mechanical shades and shutters.
Under the spiral-drilled metal speaker covers are the components of a 19-speaker Revel Audio system from Harman. The high-end sound system company signed a 10-year deal that puts Revel exclusively in future Lincoln products.
"The Rhapsody blue [paint] really leads us from the exterior to the interior," says Woodhouse. "It's tone on tone; I think that's an incredibly modern way to do luxury these days."
Push a button and out of the rear center console slides what looks to be a chrome tray. Flip it up to reveal a touchscreen for watching movies or controlling the vehicles infotainment and climate control system.
A concept this grand just has to have a cubby to stash the bubbly, yes? Of course; in the just above the center console, behind the elbow rest, is a champagne fridge and drawer that holds two specially designed flutes. Two different cupholders (for stationary and moving toasts) allow passengers to get their clink on.
I used to go kick tires with my dad at local car dealerships. I was the kid quizzing the sales guys on horsepower and 0-60 times, while Dad wandered around undisturbed. When the salesmen finally cornered him, I'd grab as much of the glossy product literature as I could carry. One that still stands out to this day: the beautiful booklet on the Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX that favorably compared it to the Porsches of the era. I would pore over the prose, pictures, specs, trim levels, even the fine print, never once thinking that I might someday be responsible for the asterisked figures "*as tested by Motor Trend magazine." My parents, immigrants from Hong Kong, worked their way from St. Louis, Missouri (where I was born) to sunny Camarillo, California, in the early 1970s. Along the way, Dad managed to get us into some interesting, iconic family vehicles, including a 1973 Super Beetle (first year of the curved windshield!), 1976 Volvo 240, the 1977 Chevrolet Caprice Classic station wagon, and 1984 VW Vanagon. Dad imbued a love of sports cars and fast sedans as well. I remember sitting on the package shelf of his 1981 Mazda RX-7, listening to him explain to my Mom - for Nth time - what made the rotary engine so special. I remember bracing myself for the laggy whoosh of his turbo diesel Mercedes-Benz 300D, and later, his '87 Porsche Turbo. We were a Toyota family in my coming-of-age years. At 15 years and 6 months, I scored 100 percent on my driving license test, behind the wheel of Mom's 1991 Toyota Previa. As a reward, I was handed the keys to my brother's 1986 Celica GT-S. Six months and three speeding tickets later, I was booted off the family insurance policy and into a 1983 Toyota 4x4 (Hilux, baby). It took me through the rest of college and most of my time at USC, where I worked for the Daily Trojan newspaper and graduated with a biology degree and business minor. Cars took a back seat during my stint as a science teacher for Teach for America. I considered a third year of teaching high school science, coaching volleyball, and helping out with the newspaper and yearbook, but after two years of telling teenagers to follow their dreams, when I wasn't following mine, I decided to pursue a career in freelance photography. After starving for 6 months, I was picked up by a tiny tuning magazine in Orange County that was covering "The Fast and the Furious" subculture years before it went mainstream. I went from photographer-for-hire to editor-in-chief in three years, and rewarded myself with a clapped-out 1989 Nissan 240SX. I subsequently picked up a 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser (FJ60) to haul parts and camera gear. Both vehicles took me to a more mainstream car magazine, where I first sipped from the firehose of press cars. Soon after, the Land Cruiser was abandoned. After a short stint there, I became editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Sport Compact Car just after turning 30. My editorial director at the time was some long-haired dude with a funny accent named Angus MacKenzie. After 18 months learning from the best, Angus asked me to join Motor Trend as senior editor. That was in 2007, and I've loved every second ever since.
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