It’s no surprise that Lincoln has been suffering a bit. While arch-nemesis Cadillac defined its very recognizable ‘Art & Science’ design philosophy and applied it to all of its models in the range — gaining a wealth of new and younger buyers in the process — Ford’s luxury division has fallen short of the mark.
Ford brought on design director Max Wolff — a GM veteran who worked on numerous Cadillac models before making the move to head Lincoln — to help reinvigorate the brand back in 2010, and with Ford deciding to axe the Mercury brand to focus more of its efforts on Lincoln that same year, a new dedicated design studio was subsequently opened. Since then Lincoln has shown one model bearing Wolff’s signature: the MKZ unveiled at the 2012 New York auto show.
Now Lincoln has set its sights on China and developed a concept that showcases how its newfound design language might be applied to a vehicle fitting the crossover-SUV typology. The MKC is a preview of what’s set to be the latest entry in the rapidly expanding segment, and judging from what we saw in Detroit, it doesn’t look to be too far off from production.
We had a walkaround the Lincoln MKC concept with lead exterior designer Murat Gueler.
