Motor vehicle
The Lincoln MKR concept car was a premium 4-door fastback sedan design, as introduced during the 2007 North American International Auto Show by Lincoln. Its chassis was based on the Ford D2C platform as used in the Ford Mustang. The MKR signaled the next-generation of premium Lincoln vehicles, introducing the new TwinForce engine family and a restyled "bow wave" waterfall grill. The concept car was first unveiled to the media and the public in a press release on 1 January 2007.[1]
Concept
The Lincoln concept featured an independent rear suspension, with MacPherson struts up front. The engine selected for the MKR concept introduced the new generation of Ford twin-turbocharged engines. The prototype TwinForce 3.5L twin-turbo, direct-injection gasoline V6 was also capable of running on E85 ethanol, producing up to 415-hp, and 400 pound force-feet (540 N⋅m) of torque.
The interior design included environmentally-friendly and renewable materials, such as cashmere leather, oak instrument panel engineered from recycled wood, mohair carpet, and seat cushion foam made from soy. The concept car also featured the THX II-certified car audio system.
The Lincoln MKR concept was introduced along with what became Lincoln's flagship sedan, the Lincoln MKS. The MKR represented a full expression of Lincoln's future design strategy, which included seven primary design features:[2]
- Clean and uncluttered body surfaces
- High beltlines
- Rear suicide doors are easy for passengers to access
- Chamfered surfaces which run parallel to the beltline
- Twin-port “bow-wave” double-wing front grille - inspired by the 1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet
- Thin horizontal headlights, and thin LED tailamps that run the width of the vehicle
- Thick C-pillar that smoothly transitions into the cantilevered roof
- Pronounced cantrail / roofrails
Special Projects Inc., located in Plymouth, Michigan, was hired to be responsible for the building of the MKR. Special Projects has built many other concept vehicles for Ford including Ford 427, Ford Super Chief, Ford Flex, and Lincoln Blackwood.[3]
Production intent
The MKR did not enter production, but many of the concept's design themes and features were adopted for the production Lincoln MKS, MKZ, MKX, and MKT vehicles, starting with the 2009 model year MKS, 2010 for the MKZ and MKT, and 2011 for the MKX. The Lincoln C concept also shares design themes with the MKR, in a smaller compact platform. If the MKR had been approved, as an all new vehicle it would have likely been scheduled to launch around the 2011 time frame, most likely having been assembled at Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Flat Rock, Michigan alongside the Mustang, with which it would have shared a platform.
