2017 Lincoln Continental

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DuceTheTruth

No Flexxin No Fakin
Apr 1, 2003
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#1


2017 Lincoln Continental: The Flagship Has Come In
Lincoln takes its flagship from showtime to go-time.


When the Lincoln Continental concept made its surprise debut at the New York auto show last spring, it wowed showgoers (with the notable exception of then Bentley design chief Luc Donckerwolke). Having dropped the bombshell concept with little advanced warning, Ford did not play coy with its intentions. The Continental, it said, was headed for production. Thus, the question immediately became: How close would the production version be to the impressive—if admittedly Bentley-esque—show car? Now, we have our answer: very close indeed.


The Continental is the most recent in a slew of new or redesigned Lincoln models (note the MKZ, MKC, MKX, and Navigator). The Continental is a new entry that steps in for the MKS. As Lincoln president Kumar Galhotra notes, “It’s our flagship—it is the most significant step so far.”


Based on a derivation of the CD4 platform, which also underpins the Ford Fusion, the architecture was extensively modified for the Continental. Not only have the wheelbase and the front and rear track been enlarged, the front structure was reengineered to create a longer dash-to-axle ratio to achieve more rear-drive proportions.

The Continental, however, is front-/all-wheel drive. The flagship sedan’s powerplant is a new—and Lincoln-exclusive—3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 making a robust 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. Don’t call it an EcoBoost, though, as Lincoln will eschew that designation going forward, not only for the new 3.0T but also for the other engines formerly known as EcoBoost, including the 2.7-liter turbo V-6 that also is offered in the Continental. A naturally aspirated 3.7-liter V-6 rounds out the lineup. (There are no hybrids or plug-ins, at least for now.)


Both the 3.7 and the 2.7 turbo will be offered with a choice of front- or all-wheel drive, while the bad-boy 3.0T is AWD-only. That all-wheel-drive system, by the way, includes torque vectoring across the rear axle. For all engines, a six-speed automatic handles the shifting duties. Selectable drive modes—Normal, Sport, and Comfort—adjust damper firmness, shift mapping, and steering effort.

The exterior design obviously hews closely to the concept. The grille, with a mesh pattern that echoes the Lincoln logo, already has spread to the MKZ, which receives a facelift for 2017. Some of the other elements that carried over from the concept: The door handles do not have conventional hand pockets; instead, the chrome beltline molding curves out to form the handle, and the latch is electronic. (The doors have power cinching, as well.) The seats also carried over intact, with their 50 patents and 30-way adjustment, including separately adjustable support for the driver’s right and left thighs. The Continental is a five-seater, and both outboard rear-seat positions offer heating, cooling, recline, and massage functions.



The Continental will be offered in four trim levels: Premiere, Select, Reserve, and Black Label. The latter comes in three different themes: Chalet (a wintry look with creams and white), Thoroughbred (equine inspired in tans and browns), and—exclusive to the Continental—Rhapsody (which mimics the show-car’s interior with deep blue and lots of chrome).


What won’t be offered is any form of autonomous-driving capability. True, Lincoln will have the expected driver aids: adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning with automatic braking and pedestrian detection, lane-keep assist, a 360-degree-view camera, and automated parking (parallel and perpendicular, both in and out). Ford’s latest Sync 3 system will be standard, as will Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability. But the latest show-off features—hands-off driving, gesture control—aren’t on the menu.


When the Continental goes up against the Lexus GS, Audi A6, Cadillac CT6, and friends in the North American and Chinese markets starting this fall, it won’t do so as the most tech-heavy or the sportiest offering in the class. Instead, Lincoln is espousing the idea of Quiet Luxury. It’s almost an old-school philosophy, but it may be the way forward for an old-school luxury brand trying to make a name for itself with a new generation of buyers.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQWsWFg37WY[/video]​
 
Aug 26, 2002
2,504
32,419
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Hard Times
#15
That's nice, how much did you pay for it?....and how many miles are on it?

Dude wanted 4000 but ended up taking 2500. That photo is flattering, it needs some work for sure. Miles are 55000, I'm guessing that's 155000 but hard to tell. I don't know shit about cars. The guy I bought it from has an identical 65 and a 64 and is gonna let me trade out parts supposedly. It runs and drives kinda but we're rebuilding the engine now and doing the transmission next. Wanna get it running smoothly before we fuck with the body or interior.
 

DuceTheTruth

No Flexxin No Fakin
Apr 1, 2003
6,884
6,014
1
44
#16
Dude wanted 4000 but ended up taking 2500. That photo is flattering, it needs some work for sure. Miles are 55000, I'm guessing that's 155000 but hard to tell. I don't know shit about cars. The guy I bought it from has an identical 65 and a 64 and is gonna let me trade out parts supposedly. It runs and drives kinda but we're rebuilding the engine now and doing the transmission next. Wanna get it running smoothly before we fuck with the body or interior.
Man if the rest of the car looks like the pic and it drives decently, you came up imo. And talking dude down to 2500 from 4000, maybe YOU should be a salesman of some sort lol jk...nah but for real. You got yourself one of the greatest classics out there my friend.

sidenote: I would also consider getting the brake system checked out and maybe even doing a disk brake conversion. I say that because a buddy of mine has a turquoise blue '65 Fleetwood, and an afternoon of cruising almost turned disastrous when the brake system heated up and failed. We were just riding around never even went over 40mph before that happened. We ended sittin on the side of the road for about a half hour waiting for the brake pressure to come cack, needless to say we were on limp mode back to the house.
 
Aug 26, 2002
2,504
32,419
113
41
Hard Times
#17
Man if the rest of the car looks like the pic and it drives decently, you came up imo. And talking dude down to 2500 from 4000, maybe YOU should be a salesman of some sort lol jk...nah but for real. You got yourself one of the greatest classics out there my friend.



sidenote: I would also consider getting the brake system checked out and maybe even doing a disk brake conversion. I say that because a buddy of mine has a turquoise blue '65 Fleetwood, and an afternoon of cruising almost turned disastrous when the brake system heated up and failed. We were just riding around never even went over 40mph before that happened. We ended sittin on the side of the road for about a half hour waiting for the brake pressure to come cack, needless to say we were on limp mode back to the house.

Haha thanks bro. I probably would have paid 3000 or maybe more but me and my partner just super low balled him and he took it. I was just reading that about the brakes on a Lincoln forum. Good call. That shits scary. I'll post photos when we start to work on it.
 
Jan 5, 2006
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#19
I don't understand why most american companies keep puting the nav screen so damn low. Put that shit up on the dash, you know... where your eyes should be; on the road nad not looking down. Acura, Honda, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Infiniti, etc all do it. If you're not trying to be like the rest, too late-- you already use projector headlights.
 

DuceTheTruth

No Flexxin No Fakin
Apr 1, 2003
6,884
6,014
1
44
#20
I don't understand why most american companies keep puting the nav screen so damn low. Put that shit up on the dash, you know... where your eyes should be; on the road nad not looking down. Acura, Honda, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Infiniti, etc all do it. If you're not trying to be like the rest, too late-- you already use projector headlights.
I think most of the newer model cars will be like that if not all. Because before in dash navigation became the norm the radio and hvac controls were all pretty much in the middle of the dash, with the vents at the top. And I'd guess to put the nav at the top of the dash would require a major re-design of the front dashboard. Something they'd probably reserve for the next new model entirely. That's just my guess tho.

Edit: I just went and looked at this interior and I see what you mean....somebody at Ford is trippin lol