Lincoln Motor Company unveiled its 2017 Continental on January 11 at the 2016 North American International Auto Show, which the company will begin selling in America and China this fall.
The return of the company’s flagship full-sized sedan brings with it a “thoroughly modern” new design that intends to appeal to “culturally progressive clients who define luxury on their own terms,” according to a Lincoln media release.
“The Continental name has long been associated with the ultimate in Lincoln beauty and luxury,” Kumar Galhotra, president of Lincoln, said in the media release. “With the all-new model, we are focusing on creating more human, personally tailored experiences for our clients – providing what we call quiet luxury.”
Understated elegance certainly resonates with the Continental’s brand history, and while the 2017 model is “brimming with luxury features,” according to an NAIAS press release, Lincoln has managed to marry contemporary wow-factor with low key luxury with this revival.
Elegant Design Features
A stand-out design feature of the new Continental is the “Lincoln Embrace,” which illuminates a brand-exclusive flowering sequence of LED signature lighting in the lower front fascia, rear tail lamps and headlamps when it detects a driver approaching. Mat lights also brighten the ground area around the front doors to improve ease of entry, and interior lighting aims to create a warm welcome to passengers.
“This car greets you as you approach it,” Galhotra said in the NAIAS press release. “As you get near it, this car comes to life.”
An abundance of other contemporary technological features enable a customized experience, including “Perfect Position” seats inspired by private jets and high-end office furniture, which can adjust to a passenger’s body shape and weight, provide a massage, heating, cooling, independent thigh extensions for additional support, and can be adjusted up to 30 different ways.
“It fits you like a fun suit,” Galhotra said in the press release.
Heated, cooled and massaging seats are also available in the rear, as are audio and climate controls and sunshades. Moreover, “the streamlined interior provides generous rear legroom,” according to the media release.
Door handles are built cleanly into the belt line and come equipped with E-latch electronic door releases, which pop open the doors with the touch of a button and use power-cinching technology to automatically close them.
Additional design features include an available panoramic sunroof that almost spans the entire roof, the front half of which slides up and over the rear; a customizable instrument panel; and three exclusive Lincoln Black Label designer interior theme options, which utilize unique woods, leathers and other luxury materials. All models feature new design details, including couture-like seat stitching and laser-cut center console door slats.
“This car greets you as you approach it,” Galhotra said in the NAIAS press release. “As you get near it, this car comes to life.”
Optimized For A Quiet Ride
A quiet and “serene” interior is an important element to the design of the 2017 Continental, according to the media release, and the model is thus equipped with several features aimed at optimizing the sonic experience of the ride.
First, 20-inch foam-lined tires are available to reduce noise from the tire cavity by as much as seven decibels. In addition, acoustic-laminated side glass helps insulate the interior cabin from exterior noise from the road and wind.
Very notable is an Active Noise Control feature that listens for undesirable noise throughout the cabin using microphones, produces opposing sound waves through the speakers to cancel them out, and at the same time enhances desired sounds.
Finally, the Revel speaker grilles are designed to produce optimized sound quality — the result of developers testing 200 different designs, according to the media release.
Performance And Safety Enhancing Technology
While Lincoln has loaded the new Continental with technologies aimed at enhancing the luxury aspects of the vehicle, a variety of technological features also aim to improve performance and safety.
The base engine will be a 3.7-liter V6 with standard front-wheel drive and optional all-wheel drive, and probably around 300 horsepower, followed by a 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6, also with front-wheel drive standard and all-wheel drive optional, according to Consumer Reports.
The top-level vehicle’s new brand-exclusive 3.0-liter V6 engine with twin turbochargers produces an estimated 400 horsepower and 400 lb.-ft. of torque, and “is designed for smooth, responsive, yet quiet power,” according to the media release, and an optional all-wheel-drive system comes with “Dynamic Torque Vectoring,” which automatically transfers torque between the rear wheels for improved stability when turning corners.
Also designed to improve handling is an adaptive steering feature called “Lincoln Drive Control,” which provides three settings – comfort, normal and sport – to tailor steering and suspension for improved steering response. “Advanced sensors in the continuously controlled damping system monitor the road 23,000 times per second and automatically adjust to provide a smooth and comfortable ride.”
To assist with parking and maneuvering in tight spots, a new 360-degree camera system seamlessly combines images from four cameras mounted in the grille, deck lid and 180-degree side mirrors for an overhead view of the vehicle. Several other technological features are useful for driving in stop-and-go traffic, including “Auto Hold,” which keeps the vehicle at a complete stop without the need for a driver to keep his foot on the brake, and adaptive cruise control, which automatically slows the vehicle in traffic, resumes higher speeds when it clears, and can even activate the brakes if the driver fails to brake in time.
In terms of safety, a feature called “Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection” scans the roadway ahead using radar and camera technology, and warns the driver if it detects a collision risk. However, if the driver does not respond in time, this feature can apply up to full braking force automatically to help prevent some frontal collisions or reduce their severity.
Similarly, a lane-keeping system is available, which alerts the driver if the vehicle is drifting from the driving lane and applies steering torque to help direct it back into the appropriate lane. Finally, SYNC 3 technology allows the driver to make calls, play music and read texts in the center display without the need to take his hands off the wheel.
An Upward Trend in Luxury For Ford
Mark Fields, CEO of Ford, said Lincoln is steadily making progress in the luxury vehicle market, with global sales up 17% last year and plans for 60 Lincoln dealerships to be operational by year’s end, according to the NAIAS press release.
“2016 will be an inflection point for Lincoln. It is the largest ever portfolio for the brand,” Fields said in the press release. “With the Continental, we are delivering the last of the four new [Lincoln] products that we promised.” The 2017 Lincoln Continental will be produced at Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan, and will be available for purchase in the fall of 2016.
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Written by Adam Leitenberger
Associate Editor & Digital Media Manager
adam@limodigest.com
via Limo News http://ift.tt/1ZNm1Uf
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