ONE THING Lincoln designers have learned is that the 1961 Continental’s grille doesn’t easily translate to modern cars and SUVs. New models need to add, at least, suicide doors and a reardrive car’s dash-to-axle ratio for the retro design to work. Witness the Lincoln MKX, on which the retro grille looks a bit plain.
Ford North American design chief Peter Horbury’s solution is to go back another two decades to the 1941 Continental. A modern version of its double-wing nose works better on the 2009 MKS than the modern 1961 eggcrate did on concept versions of Lincoln’s new flagship.
The production MKS’s profile also appears more cleaned up than the concept’s, although the bustle tail seems unresolved, with Lancia Theta-like taillamps. The front-drive MKS launches later this year with a new 3.7-liter…
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MotorTrend (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 2008