Lincoln launched Concept C at 2009 Detroit show
Lincoln surprised everyone at the 2009 Detroit auto show with an ultramodern Concept C much shorter than any Lincoln ever created. Said to be underpinned by the next generation Ford Focus platform, the small four-door concept C could easily be mistaken for a luxury vehicle that you might find in Europe.
“It’s inevitable that a younger generation of buyers will want something different from a luxury brand,” says Ford’s global design chief, J Mays, in regards to the C and according to automobilemag.com. “A small Lincoln like this will appeal to 30-something urban dwellers, people who live in lofts in city centers like Chicago and New York. Yet the C is consistent with what we’ve been doing since 2005 with the Lincoln brand. Just look at our design DNA, and look at our consistency. You can put the C alongside our current cars, and it fits in with them, without them being just different lengths of the same sausage.”
This striking concept has been designed under the direction of Freeman Thomas and Dave Woodhouse at Ford’s Southern California styling studio. “It’s inspired by the 1939 Lincoln,” says Thomas. “Our goal,” he continues, was to “work closely with engineers. We understand what they do, and when we look at the platforms they offer us, we become vehicle architects alongside the engineers. So our goal here was to maximize the interior by minimizing the size of the drivetrain, which EcoBoost allowed us to do.” Therefore, under the hood, there is a 1.6-liter, direct injected and turbocharged EcoBoost inline four-cylinder engine that makes 180 hp and 180 lb-ft of torque. It is claimed that this engine gives similar performance to a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine while returning a predicted 43 mpg on the highway. In order to benefit city mileage and to help boost fuel economy, the engine turns on and off at rest. Along with Mazda, Ford uses a system where pressing the gas pedal causes a mild assist from the starter motor to accompany an injection of fuel into the cylinder that has its valves closed and its piston at top dead center.
Emphasized by its sizable fenders and the strong shoulder-line in the doors, the Concept C may be as long as a Focus, but it’s roughly as wide as a MKZ sedan. Although the C looks like a hatchback, with a rear shape that has something in common with the European-market Renault Megane, Thomas insists, “It is not a hatchback. We are looking a lots of ‘premium opening systems’ such as sliding trays.”
The interior is very stylish and roomy. The seats are adorned with a whimsical flower motif, cut into the leather by laser, which was inspired by the work of noted British textile artist Helen Amy Murray. The instrument panel features TV screens on both ends displaying images from exterior cameras, plus all manner of iPhone-inspired devices that promise to provide the next generation of Ford’s Sync technology. The dash is covered with gray recycled driftwood and the white and chrome steering wheel, clearly inspired by the Apple iPod, is thicker in depth than it is in width. Besides, the roof of the vehicle is composed mainly of organically shaped glass panels.
To conclude, the C will probably be a successful brand and definitively one of the strongest concept efforts from Lincoln this decade.