Spy photos: 2009 Lincoln MKS

Ford is so lost. They keep wandering farther away while claiming to know where they're going.

but for hasn't made great v6's in 50years either. This new 3.5l v6 with 260hp is a great choice for a v6 sedan. And i guess the mustang/explorer's 4.6l v8 (292 in explorer) or Volvos 4.4l v8(311 in s80) would be a good choices.
 
If that elevated part in the rear isn't as high and came out like the Nissan Maxima's, I would like it! Any word on if this car will be RWD like the old LS or FWD like the new s80?
 
-Cj

Supposedly it's going to be AWD. And I'm not sold on how "great" this new V6 is, either. It's certainly not as powerful and I don't think it's as efficient as, say, the new 3.5 from Toyota in the Camry/RAV4/IS. Most definitely it is an improvement over the laughable 3.0 and 4.0 V6s in Ford vehicles now, but that's not saying much.

The wheelbase looks too short and the greenhouse looks too small.

I agree that it doesnt really "sit" like a luxury/sport sedan should. The profile looks reminiscent of the current Passat, including the rather jacked up rear end (is Ford still copying VW's styling?)

AWD/front drive, base 3.5 with supposed twin turbos. But that's prob. a future concept, if anything at all. My guess is 3.5/ or new 3.7 derived from 3.5, also either can be turned into direct injection engines. V8 to me is a necessity, being that the Lincoln marque is of luxury and most rich folk use horsepower as a label of supremacy. The 4.4 (Yamaha) V8 with 315 horses sounds too expensive, when the domestic all-aluminum 4.6 3-valve with 300 horses would be an easy in. However, given the FWD origin, maybe the 4.6 won't fit correctly as that it has been a RWD produced engine. And although the 3.0/4.0 Ford V6s are ancient, both are reliable tried & true that will with stand hundreds of miles. Toyota seems to have found a system that works; copy what made American companies popular with Americans ages ago, before emission controls - vehicles with powerful & large engines. And now that Americans have abandoned their own businesses to outsourse foreign brands, the foreign brands have had plenty of capital & resources to attack at both angles, compact & full-size. Camry no longer is compact with small efficient engines; the 3.0 is out in favor is a larger 3.5. The failed & weak T-100, mutated to adapt to the full size community, but that wasn't enough as that now the Tundra has bloated even more, even as that there are plenty of inefficient pickups on road, and now offers an even bigger 5.7 V8. Welcome to the an exploited & easily sold American public. Foreign competition owns America by copying and reproducing what we already have made for years - and the profit goes straight to them while paying fair hourly wages, but weak benefits in American plants just to avert paying shipping and import tax.

It looks like a Pacifica in the first picture. I feel weird saying that, but I'm serious. It's so bulky.

Flagship?!!! Flagship?!!! You've got to be kidding!!! A V-6 powered, tarted-up Mazda 6 is not a flagship by even the wildest stretch of the imagination. Besides, Lincoln already has that - the Zephyr, er, MK-whatever-the-hell-they-call-it-now.
 
A Lincoln flagship is large, powerful, luxury car - V8 powered and RWD. To abandon the Town Car (for all its ennumerable faults) and not do a direct and vastly upgraded replacement is absolutely insane. What a wasted opportunity to startle the industry - as they did in 1961 - by building a stunning, iconic, super-high quality luxury car that is in every way a viable American alternative in the luxury market.
 
Lincoln can dress up the Maxda 6 any way they want, but no one will for a minute consider it a proper luxury car, much less a flagship.

Ford sold Aston Martin, so I expected Jaguar to move upscale a bit, leaving more of a void for Lincoln to follow.
 
A V6 only would surprise me. Seems like they should be heading in the opposite direction.

1. It's based on a Volvo not a Mazda 6. Not that a Mazda 6 would be a bad starting point for a vehicle. Toyota and Honda gussy up lower end vehicles all the time. In fact that's what has largely made them so successful.
 
2. The Twinforce engine will be in this vehicle. I'm not positive whether it'll make it for launch or whether Ford will add the twinforce later on. The base model will have a 3.7 V6.

This vehicle is based off the 500/Taurus/Montego/Sable platform, not the Fusion/Milan/Zepher/MKZ platform.
 
There is no need for a V8 anymore...the V6 engines (especially those supercharge/turbocharged) provide more than enough power while improving fuel economy, which is where this country needs to be headed.
 
I for one think this new Lincoln could reach a new generation of buyers. The old folks will buy it cause it's a Lincoln...what choice do they have? Especially since Cadillac is going to abandon the DTS (Stupidest move ever IMHO) for an STS/DTS car. This car will be leaps and bounds ahead of the current Towncar. Give them the benefit of the doubt....there is too much riding on Lincoln...they will get it right, if not in this generation, then when the new Taurus/Sable/MKS is released in a few years.

xfilerguy,
 
Ford is definitely dependent on Lincoln, but dependency doesn't secure success.
 
Lincoln needs a V8. A V8 Lincoln is traditional and appeals to traditional Lincoln buyers. Without one, they will lose a huge slice of the pie to Buick, Chrysler, and (to those more well-to-do seniors) BMW and M-B. I can count on one hand how many cars Ford has that have V8's in them. Actually, I can count them on one finger, because the only V8 car they have anymore is the Mustang. The 'Stang ain't for everyone, especially the older folks looking to haul the grandkids around.
 
Ford is in desperate need of direction. Every step they take, they take in the wrong direction. With the decision for a non-V8 Lincoln flagship, they'll officially alienate every single customer in every single market that they're in... sans the truck market.

I really don't see how a 400 HP twinforce engine is a step in the wrong direction. I think most sophisticated buyers now a days prefer turbos over big V8s because they're more efficient. There are still a lot of traditionalists out there but Lincoln isn't the only company going this route. Most of the European brands are heavy on powerful V6 turbo engines. For those that want the large American ride there's always the Town Car/Grand Marquis. Those engines and vehicles will probably be updated when the Boss engine is finished and production ready. Unfortunately the MKS really isn't able to fit any of these engines. The largest one it could have fit would have been the 4.4 Yamaha V8, but that's only 311 HP. Personally I think going from 311 to 400 HP is a huge step in the right direction. 311 HP would not have impressed anyone. Everyone would be complaining how weak the engine is. Twinforce will be a much better competitor in the segment, sepecially if they can keep the price of this vehicle down.

It's not hp so much as perception. Lincoln buyers want a smooth V8 with lots of low-end torque. Also, for that type of clientele, a V8 offers a certain panache that other luxury cars supposedly don't have. In part, they're right. Turbo V6s usually have to get higher in their rpm range than an NA V8.

Comp,
 
I think you're mistaken. This MKS is "displacing the Town Car", as Bob put it. There won't BE a Town Car when this goes on sale. The Grand Marquis, I'm assuming, will meet the same fate. The Crown Vic will be exclusively fleet sales from here on out. There is no other large, V8 sedan from Ford. Like I said, with this decision, Ford has a lone V8 car in the Mustang.
 
Furthermore, the European companies that you claim are going in favor of "powerful V6 turbo engines" don't exist. BMW only has their I-6 in the 3 series and base 5 series. Not to mention that the new M3 will ditch its traditional I-6 setup for a new V8. Audi has pushed V8's in their large cars for the last 10 years. M-B only offers a V6 in their C-, E-, and CLK-class vehicles, which only produces as much as 268HP, which is on par with the Camry. The M-B models aren't on par with the Town Car in size, and if they are, the M-B's offer a V8 option in them.
 
High power V6's are only making their way into mid-size cars. Large cars still (by consumer demand) require V8's.
 
My point still stands: Ford has taken another step in the wrong direction.

You're right that most of the large European sedans have V8s. I was thinking more of the smaller vehicles. But to that point if Ford is able to achieve over 400 HP and 400 Ft-lbs of torque the it'll be a lot more powerful than what Audi and BMW are offering. I also don't believe the Town Car is going anywhere. I'm not familiar with the exact plan at the moment, but a replacement is being planned.

More importantly that all of this though, its that it's going to be built on a FWD platform!?! Seriously Ford? Even the simple minded luxury buyer will turn their nose up at the chinziness of a FWD/"AWD" "flagship".

I dont think abandoning the V8's is a good idea at all. As was stated before, wheres the prestige in having a whiney V6? There's no real low-end oomph to push the big cars around. They rev higher to get that power, while a big V8 delivers from low-end up. In a luxury sedan you expect to hear the subtle tones of a burly V8 and engulf in the smoothness it delivers. You can't quite get that in a V6. It just isn't the same.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE THIS MANY BLOG ENTRIES ABOUT A LINCOLN!! A LINCOLN THAT, IN DISGUISE, LOOKS LIKE A MALIBU MAXX FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!!!!

Lincoln should have stuck with the LS's good platform. It was RWD of course and could accept V6 and V8 powerplants. Seems like Lincoln is taking steps BACKWARDS!

Yeah...why did they kill the LS?

Because they're idiots and can't recognize a truly good car platform when they see (or, in this case, design) one.

The LS was a beautiful car, but it was horribly unreliable. I can kind of see why they would get rid of it there, but if they were smart they would have taken the time to improve and redesign some of it so it sells better and serves their customers better, longer. Nothing the Ford Motor Company has done lately has been for the better, and thats a sad thing.

i bet its going to look as sleak as a lexus gs

toony, this isnt going to be like the GS, no where near. This "thing" is FWD based so it wont have the short overhangs of a RWD platform. Look at how far the nose sticks out over the front wheels in the pic above. Doesnt look too promising for Lincoln......What will those old fogies drive now that the Lincoln Town Car is dead....LS460 perhaps?

AUTHOR: fulcrumb
DATE: 05/17/2007 05:43:04 PM
EMAIL: chrisgb@arcticmail.com

I think FOMOCO is going through a phase. They keep shooting themselves in the foot and they're almost out of toes.
    As a guy in the Lincoln target demographic (old enough to remember all the Mousekateers' names; young enough to wheelie my Ninga ZX-11), I agree with most of the postings here. Gotta have a V8 in the Flagship. This is the Ford Motor Company, Mr Mually, 'Been joinin' 4-bangers at the hip for 75 years.
     They need to keep "proper distance" from the Ford & Mercury brands; the Cadillac Cimaron business model ain't gonna work now, either. I am currently leasing an '06 Milan and it is so far a good car. But I could not jusify spending another 7-to15 thousand on a Zephyr which, by the way, was originally a Lincoln model name but was most recently used on the Merc- badged Fairmonts of the 80's. I would be willing to move UP to a Lincoln from a Mercury; not Over. Same-same
Taurus/Sable/ MKS. I'm no product engineer, but if I was almost out of toes and needed a drop dead gorgeous Flagship in the showrooms - like tomorrow, I'd be stamping out MKR sheetmetal and bolting it on a 2wd Navigator Chassis.
      Kudos for not buying Chrysler, too.