Last year, Lincoln sales fell by 4 percent to 82,150 units in the U.S. despite the market posting a 13 percent increase compared to 2011. It’s obvious that Ford’s luxury car brand has a lot of work to do to catch up with its competitors.
The MKC Concept that will premiere at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit is part of that offensive that includes four all-new models aimed at the most popular segments in the next four years.
The compact luxury crossover segment, which has grown by nearly 60 percent in 2012 and more than 200 percent in the last four years, is one of them and Lincoln will compete with the MKC.
“We are reinventing Lincoln by focusing on the largest and fastest-growing segments of the luxury market, while offering clients something different”, said executive vice president of Lincoln’s global marketing, sales and services Jim Farley. “The just-introduced MKZ re-establishes Lincoln in the largest luxury segment and the MKC Concept highlights a key opportunity in the fastest-growing part of the luxury market.”
The new compact luxury SUV features Lincoln’s new split-grille, which was first seen in the 1930s Zephyr and reintroduced in the 2013 MKZ mid-size luxury sedan. Apart from that, its most striking features are the frameless doors, the panoramic roof with two steel bars running across its length and the clamshell tailgate that extends over the rear wings and offers a very large opening in the trunk.
In spite of being a concept, the cabin looks like it could be lifted straight from a production car and, apart from some elements like the leather-wrapped A-pillars and (we guess) the four-seat configuration it will most likely feature on the road-ready MKC.
“There is a significant upgrade in materials and a stylish, fashion-oriented package. The materials are combined with progressive combinations and uses of stitching and colors”, said Soo Kang, Lincoln interior design chief.
The MKC is the smallest car Lincoln has ever made, being 4,550 mm (179.3 in) long, 1,932 mm (76.1 in) wide and 1,607 mm (63.2 in) tall and sporting a 2,712 mm (106.9 in) wheelbase. This makes it longer and wider than the Ford Escape upon which it is based, at 4,524 mm (178.1 in) long and 1,839 mm (72.4 in) in wide and has a shorter (2,690 mm / 105.9 in) wheelbase.
An image gallery and a video of the new Lincoln MKC are available for your viewing pleasure right after the break.
By Andrew Tsaousis
Much better than most of what has come out of Ford, er, I meant, the Lincoln Motor Company, in a least a decade. Now if only the production model looks exactly like this, they may have a chance of being somewhat relevant in the NA market. Though, it does remind me A LOT of the Land Rover Evoq, but hey, whatever, it looks decent nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame that Lincoln cars aren't availible in Europe.
ReplyDeleteThe front is a Kia Sportage look-like :) only little but I have to say overall it looks normal.
ReplyDeleteThe interior is flat-out gorgeous, with a clean and modern aesthetic
ReplyDeletethat doesn't resort to a lot of showcar trickery like center-mounted
floating seats and improbably shaped instrument panels in order to wow.
It also avoids the trap of being too austere – there's a warmth to this
design.
Look, a VW Touareg + Audi Q5 had a baby.
ReplyDeleteEXCELLENT job Lincoln - BEAUTIFUL SUV!! I pray this concept is actually the real vehicle - don't change a thing. Some real thought has been put into the design and the attention to detail is striking. I need a reasonably affordable/efficient daily vehicle & this would be perfect for my criteria - as long as Lincoln doesn't bland it down.
ReplyDeletereally impressive
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more!
ReplyDeleteBow down, fellas. This is Optimus Prime!
ReplyDeleteprobably the best exterior design i have seen come out of lincoln/ford in the past 20 years, but hey ford, how about you stop ripping the interiors from fords and slapping on a little chrome and wood and trying to call it luxury, its not fooling anyone. its ok to parts share, but try doing something different. as it stands, i cant see how this wont get degraded just as the new mkz which will be an extremely hard sell when the ford product its based off of looks better and costs less. also, hoping that ford gets smart and separates powertrain development as a ford engine doesnt equate to a luxury engine if you are trying to combat audi, mercedes, bmw, let alone the likes of acura, jaguar, cadillac or volvo
ReplyDeleteyou know i knew the design touched on a car but couldnt think of the car and it is the evoque, but somehow these proportions look a little better, also those headlights have a little vw in them. the embossing on the interior door panels is exquisite though, and most likely would never make it to production
ReplyDelete