Lincoln hopes to reverse lagging brand with new Continental

Vehicle

The full-sized Lincoln sedan returns as part of the brand's resurgence, with the Chinese and U.S. markets as main targets. The legendary Continental nameplate in the lineup had been missing since 2002. It's been both a high-style mark for the brand in its earlier years and an image of its failure in final gasps before being discontinued – temporarily, as it turns out.

In photos: Lincoln Continental Concept inside and out

Signature feature

The design is heralded as being a modern nod to the clean looks of the Continentals of old, including a honeycomb grille conjuring the classic Continentals of yesteryear, albeit smaller. Otherwise the concept lacks the distinction of those Lincolns. This Continental needs the clean-sheet look that gave it such legendary status in the first place. The interior, however, carries the decadence of Rolls-Royce coupled with a first-class airline cabin, featuring Venetian leather seats and door panels, satin headliner, wool carpet, rose gold trim wrapping around the instrument panel and ambient lighting.

In photos: How the luxurious Continental has transformed over 75 years

What else is new?

The concept features a lot of the systems now offered on Fords (which is a good thing) such as parking assist and lane assist. It's also loaded with other more distinct and luxurious features, such as 30-way adjustable seats that look more like Eames chairs, or an E-latch door system that opens with the wave of a hand and latches closed on its own. The Revel Ultima Audio Experience has three listening modes that promise to virtually put you on stage with a band. LED head lamps have laser-assist high beams. The car senses the driver's approach, and lights up inside and out.

Under the hood

Exclusive to Lincoln, the Continental will get a 3.0-litre, twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V-6; information about power or torque will be made available closer to the Continental's actual production date.

When can we buy it, and for how much?

Some time next year We'll see the production version some time next year, which is claimed to be similar to the concept on the show floor in New York. Of course, a lot of the chrome inside the concept will be stripped, but it's expected much of the technology will remain. No pricing details have been released.

Cool quotient

3 stars (out of 5)

The look is imposing and well done, but just doesn't have the distinction and coolness of the classic Lincolns from the 1940s, '50s and '60s.

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