Lincoln Contentinal "Coach Doors" aka Sucide doors!

[silvrsvt]

From the Lincoln Contentinal Sucide Door thread-

 

Edited December 13, 2018 by silvrsvt

[twintornados]

[SoonerLS]

I'm sure it's the best they can do under the current FMVSS, but suicide doors just ain't the same with a B-pillar...

Still and all, it's pretty cool that they're bringing them back.

[Assimilator]

I hope it comes with some other updates, like an 8-speed transmission. 

It's a limited edition of about 85-250 units (reduced to 85 from it's original inception), it's nice to see Lincoln having some fun, if nothing else at least it gets attention.   

Edited December 13, 2018 by Assimilator

[02MustangGT]

While it’s a neat concept, sort of a waste of money at this point don’t you think?  

[Sevensecondsuv]

If only it was 12" wider, 18" longer, had a V8-EB instead of a V6-EB, and was on CD6 so it'd have the proper drivetrain layout.

But hey - it's a start I guess.

[Assimilator]

Some people are going to be disappointed when they find out the the Coach Doors are attached to the exact same Continental.

[Bellanca]

2 hours ago, Assimilator said:

Some people are going to be disappointed when they find out the the Coach Doors are attached to the exact same Continental.

The same people who had no intention of buying one in the first place. 

[DequindreToo]

2 hours ago, Assimilator said:

Some people are going to be disappointed when they find out the the Coach Doors are attached to the exact same Continental.

It's apparently supposed to have some mid-cycle refresh improvements as well. 

[DequindreToo]

2 hours ago, 02MustangGT said:

While it’s a neat concept, sort of a waste of money at this point don’t you think?  

It may be worth it if they can introduce similar doors on future products. This would be kind of like the pilot project.

[pffan1990]

10 minutes ago, DequindreToo said:

It's apparently supposed to have some mid-cycle refresh improvements as well. 

You mean Lincoln actually plans on continuing production of the Continental? I thought they were just going to wind down production over the next few years with minimal changes until they kill it off at the end of its cycle. It would be a good sign if Lincoln does do some mid-cycle refresh in terms of styling and packaging. Maybe 8-speed auto transmission? Now I'm really excited about this. I already heard of the 80th anniversary with coach doors a few months ago as I'm on the closed Lincoln fan FB group where one of the dealers who runs the group had already announced it. She did not know any other info about it though other than a limited run of coach doors to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first model year. So perhaps there are some surprises along the way. Lincoln has been quite secretive about their future plans unlike Ford.

[Assimilator]

Technically, Continental is due for an MCE for 2020 or 2021 (3-4 Year cycles), and Continental is suppose to be around through MY 2021.  What isn't clear is if the powertrain will be upgraded with the 8-Speed ATX that it's been missing since 2017.   The problem there is that with the MKZ going away, the FWD 3.0T only survives in Continental, and if its days are also numbered, spending the money to fit the 3.0T for the 8-speed may not make much sense.   But hopefully we won't have long to find out.  I can't help but wonder if the Coach Doors are just a relic of a decision made long ago. 

Edited December 14, 2018 by Assimilator

[Assimilator]

I've mentioned this before but the Continental is ideally setup for the "Coach Door" design because of the e-latches and the design of the handles molded into the  belt line instead of punched through the sheetmetal.  Theoretically this means the the parts are easier/cheaper to modify.  The rest involves modifying the hinges, wiring, and mounting points.  It's not trivial, but perhaps it's not that extravagant either.

The only problem with rear hinged doors is that they are more difficult to close once you're seated, so it's usually not the most practical choice without somebody (or mechanism) to close the doors for you.  I don't know if that's something we can expect here. 

Edited December 14, 2018 by Assimilator

[probowler]

That is a very nice looking car!  If I had a family and needed the rear doors, this would probably be my dream sedan.

[akirby]

3 hours ago, Sevensecondsuv said:

If only it was 12" wider, 18" longer, had a V8-EB instead of a V6-EB, and was on CD6 so it'd have the proper drivetrain layout.

But hey - it's a start I guess.

 

You forgot the bench seat and column shift....

[Sevensecondsuv]

1 hour ago, akirby said:

 

You forgot the bench seat and column shift....

I'm willing to compromise !!!

[bzcat]

What is the source of the photo in OP? Looks like some sort of press event. But a quick trip to Google doesn't come up with any actual photos or articles.

 

Edit: looks like the OP photo is from March 2018 Lincoln dealer meeting, which is how the suicide door rumor got started.

Edited December 14, 2018 by bzcat

[silvrsvt]

2 minutes ago, bzcat said:

What is the source of the photo in OP? Looks like some sort of press event. But a quick trip to Google doesn't come up with any actual photos or articles.

It looks like it might have been that Ford event from a few weeks back?

[Twin Turbo]

10 hours ago, Sevensecondsuv said:

If only it was 12" wider, 18" longer, had a V8-EB instead of a V6-EB, and was on CD6 so it'd have the proper drivetrain layout.

But hey - it's a start I guess.

I'm glad it exists, but we know (thanks to the Aviator) that Lincoln CAN do better. If this is a last hurrah for the Continental, it's a real shame. I almost wish they'd waited until now to launch Continental on CD6. The RWD proportions would have suited big saloon (not to mention potential improved dynamics). This, with a 3.5 Ecoboost and 10-speed would have been a winner, I'm sure. Instead, Continental had one hand tied behind it's back from the get go ?

Edited December 14, 2018 by Twin Turbo

[sullynd]

15 hours ago, twintornados said:

Looking at that (granted the doors aren’t open entirely) wouldn’t it be a pain for driver and passenger to enter/exit at the same time?

[Anthony]

So is this a limited run or are all Continentals getting this?  It seems weird if they'd tool for both forward and rear mounted doors.

Or if it is a limited run, is the conversion being done by a subcontractor using existing forward mounted rear doors and modifying? If so, meh.

[sullynd]

I understand why it is not, but it would be cool if it was pillar less like the B-Max.

[twintornados]

25 minutes ago, sullynd said:

I understand why it is not, but it would be cool if it was pillar less like the B-Max.

The only issue with that is then you'd have to open the front door first to then be able to open the rear doors...Can the B-Max even open the rear sliders without opening the front doors? Both doors, when closed, make up the "B" pillar for side impact protection due to re-enforcement of the rear edge of the front door and front edge of the rear slider and latches in the roof and floor.

[silvrsvt]

One way to do it is make the door closing mechanism motorized? Get into the back seat and hit a button to close the door?

I think this one is more aimed towards limo type fleets then personal usage. 

[akirby]

4 hours ago, Twin Turbo said:

I'm glad it exists, but we know (thanks to the Aviator) that Lincoln CAN do better. If this is a last hurrah for the Continental, it's a real shame. I almost wish they'd waited until now to launch Continental on CD6. The RWD proportions would have suited big saloon (not to mention potential improved dynamics). This, with a 3.5 Ecoboost and 10-speed would have been a winner, I'm sure. Instead, Continental had one hand tied behind it's back from the get go ?

 

Continental and the new Taurus were designed and built for the Chinese market first which we all thought was going to explode a few years ago.   From that standpoint and the status of the CD6 program at the time it made sense to build it on CD4.   But in hindsight you’re absolutely correct.