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Hypothetical 2018 Lincoln Continental Rendered

When you think of a big luxurious four-door sedan, images of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Lexus LS, BMW 7-Series, and Audi A8s are likely the first to come to mind. Perhaps Lincoln crossed your mind, perhaps it didn’t. But we’re willing posit that Lincoln wasn’t the brand you thought of.

That’s because Lincoln hasn’t had a formidable player in the full-size, luxury sedan realm in decades. No, the Lincoln Town Car or MKS don’t count, as they’re not anywhere on the level of the aforementioned vehicles in terms of size, quality, driving dynamics, or overall luxury. So, if Lincoln truly wants to regain some attention in automotive high-end luxury segment, then it needs a proper flagship for its fellow models to look up to. The MKZ is a step in the right direction, but its Ford Fusion bones still protrude a bit. And even though there’s no real word on a Lincoln flagship, that didn’t stop Carscoops from dreaming one up. And we must say, the result looks intriguing.

The rendering presents what a modern-day, true-to-form Lincoln Continental could look like, serving both as a halo car for the brand, while being able to sell units and increase the brand’s sales volume. First and foremost, the rendering’s proportions show a rear-wheel drive platform, something that is (unfortunately) unlikely to take place from The Lincoln Motor Company. But let’s assume that, in some miraculous fashion, Linc gets its hands on a proper vehicle architecture befitting of a flagship. Then how would the car be styled?

The rendering, created by Josh Byrnes, takes vintage cues from the 1960s-era Continentals, giving Contis from that time frame a special nod thanks to the suicide door handles. The styling features an elegant appearance without that “retro” feeling. Meanwhile, clean body work and simple lines go a long way on the rendering. Notably, the designer forgoes Lincoln’s current split-wing grille in favor of what he calls an “electric shaver-inspired inlay with chrome vertical bars.” We think it works, and is undeniably better than the grille treatment Lincoln is currently using.

The cabin of the the all-new 2016 MKX would serve as a good starting point for the proposed Continental’s interior, with the designer envisioning a wave of premium materials throughout the cabin, matching the simple elegance of the exterior. We’d love to find Ford’s 5.0-liter Coyote V8 (from the 2015 Mustang GT) or maybe even Ford’s new 5.2-liter flatplane crank V8 (from the 2016 Mustang Shelby GT350) under the supposed Continental’s long hood, but Ford could also utilize the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 if it wanted to.

The whole design is a fantastic interpretation of what Lincoln could (and should) become to be an American luxury powerhouse once more. Check out the photos here.

Sean is a staff writer for GM Authority and Motrolix. When's he's not busy taking in local automotive culture, he's probably detailing his car.

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