47
NEW AND FUTURE CARS
LINCOLN
CORSAIR,
CONTINENTAL
COACH DOOR
ON SALE:
Corsair: Late 2019
Continental Coach Door: Now
BASE PRICE:
Corsair: $36,940
Continental Coach Door: $110,000 (est)What would Matthew
McConaughey say about the 2020
Corsair if Lincoln paid him to talk
in those television commercials?
Perhaps, “Lincoln Corsair looks like
a winner,” as it replaces everything
about the MKC compact sport utility
vehicle, including the confusing
name, even if the new moniker
recalls for old-timers an Edsel
model. First impression is Lincoln’s
all-new luxury compact SUV ought
to vanquish the memory of that first
Corsair for good.
Its Coke-bottle profile and sharp
beltline crease de-emphasizes SUV
height. Lincoln replaced the water-
fall grille on the last face-lift of the
MKC, and the new chrome rectangle
design appears again on the Corsair.
Lincoln clearly has moved on from
’40s retro to “Mad Men” midcentury-
inspired design.
That aesthetic carries forth to
the interior, with an emphasis on
horizontal lines, rich textures, and
Cadillac-beating fit and finish. Three
new top trim themes recall the more
colorful interiors of late ’50s/early
’60s American cars. There’s Beyond
Blue, a vivid blue and white combo;
Cashew, a rich tan and black; and
Medium Slate, a soft gray and ebony.
Lincoln’s 25 alert chimes recorded
by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
are standard, but 24-way Perfect
Position seats are optional.Lincoln is fully out of the sport
sedan business, emphasizing instead
“that sensation of gliding over the
road.” The standard engine is a
(targeted) 250-horsepower turbo I-4,
available with front- or all-wheel
drive, and an optional 2.3-liter turbo-
four (don’t call it “EcoBoost”) is
target-rated at 280 horsepower, with
all-wheel drive only. Both engines are
mated to an eight-speed automatic.
Just 80 of Lincoln’s 2019
Continental 80th Anniversary
Coach Edition began delivery this
summer. The suicide-door sedan
comes with a 6-inch wheelbase stretch
and stowable tray tables with tabletholders and wireless charging in
its pass-through rear-seat console.
An unspecified limited number of
2020 Coach Edition models will
be available through Black Label
Lincoln dealers, with the 3.0-liter
twin-turbo V-6, all-wheel drive, Active
Noise Control, and Revel Ultima
hi-fis, but not with the 2019’s special
numbered plaques. A replacement
sedan based on the new Aviator rear-
drive architecture has been canceled,
though if Lincoln can carry over its
Continental Coach Edition for one
more model year, it would coincide
with another anniversary, of the
suicide-door ’61 Continental.