Recent news has disclosed that Land Rover is serious about bringing a new flagship sedan, dubbed the Road Rover, to market. Jack Baruth over at Road and Track has speculated that the only way for them to bring a new flagship to market for a reasonable cost and development time, would be to base it on the Range Rover chassis.
This brings up the obvious question, could Lincoln do a new Towncar based on a lowered, chopped, formal-roof variant of the Navigator? Would there be a worth-while market for such a vehicle if it were to cost, say, $80k and up, and be worth every penny?
BTW, I worked in the research department of a large corporation that had an active suspension program going for many years. Land Rover was very interested in the technology back when they were still owned by Ford, but they never pulled the trigger on a licencing deal. I'm thinking this proposed Road Rover will be quite a tour-de-force, technology-wise.
Here's a recent light take from R&T, on a full sized suv-based sedan from Lincoln's primary American competitor. Although the article is tongue in cheek, the United States is no stranger to formidablesized automobiles and the 2018 Navigator's IRS suspension, 10 speed automatic transmission and aluminum body, are far from the most prehistoric underpinnings. :angel http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...an-would-be-the-ultimate-american-luxury-car/
I remember I did a rendering of a Navi-Town Car a while back. I updated it to make it look a little better than last time. (I can't find my original at the moment...)
Lincoln had planned to come out with a range topping sedan above the Continental. Was to use the platform from Aviator, but Joy Falotico cancelled the program as sedan sales arent high enough to justify the investment.
Well, I'm fine with them not releasing another sedan above the Continental. Heck, I'd be willing to lose the MKZ and MKZ replacement. But I'd still love at least ONE sedan in the Lincoln lineup. Move the Continental to the new Aviator platform, give it the Aviator interior, stretch it just a bit, make coach doors standard (or at least standard on all Black Label Continentas), and I can guarantee you it'll be a great seller. If you dont want the segment to die, entice the customers with some original that will have them get their eyes away from the SUVs in the showroom. Not impossible.
Here, lemme make it easier for Lincoln: release a new Continental that looks closer to the Conti Concept, but with coach doors. Boom, instant hit.
A next-gen Continental should be, like Aviator, on CD6. It should be a tall, long sedan with coach doors and it should scale upward into RR territory. Its grille should not be another cookie-cutter new Lincoln grille but a creative design upgrade of same. I still believe that Lincoln should have something that Ford does not have. This would be it. Low volume, high margin and desirable. Lincoln knows how to do it; its latest efforts are world class. Ford's first truly 21st century RWD platform should not be wasted only on SUVs.
Bentley's sell for $300K based almost purely on image and lure of the ridiculous W12 engine.
Continental did not move the needle on luxury, certainly, not on CD4. Navigator and Aviator are moving the needle. Lincoln can easily bake in uber-luxury in a $$80-100K big sedan package with CD6; Aviator is proof.
Wings, I'm surprised to read your words doubting Ford's capabilities.
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