Lincoln Confirms Seven-Seat MKT Crossover

Lincoln seems to have found its mojo with the new MKS. Sales are strong and a new optimism can be felt from the dealer level right up to top management in Dearborn. What’s more, the brand’s smaller MKZ is still selling well at the lower end of the lineup, with a freshened version due to hit the Los Angeles Auto Show at the end of this year and the market early next, while the MKX is putting the luxury brand on the shopping lists of premium crossover buyers. It only makes sense, then, to take advantage of the momentum and expand the lineup with the MKT.

“The Lincoln MKT reinforces our commitment to further expand North America’s fastest-growing luxury brand, providing an all-new vehicle to the showroom that’s been crafted and honed for a new kind of customer,” stated Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company’s president of The Americas.

The MKT, set for a 2009 calendar year introduction, will be a three-row luxury crossover offering room for seven with cargo capacity to spare. Lincoln says the new model will be based on the MKT concept first shown at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit and last weekend at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where the production announcement was made, although it will have to grow in size in order to accommodate the roominess promised.

Either way it will certainly be luxurious, following in the footsteps of the MKS that moves the brand up a notch or two into the premium sector, with rich leathers, metal and wood accents plus all the latest technologies, such as the SYNC communications interface co-developed with Microsoft. Expect every safety feature Lincoln has to offer as well.

Over and above the base 3.7-liter V6, Lincoln promises the same six-cylinder EcoBoost engine that it plans for its top-level MKS, boasting direct-injection plus turbocharging for V8-like performance in the range of 340-horsepower and 340 lb-ft of torque, and the fuel-economy of a V6, or about a 20-percent improvement over a larger displacement engine making similar power. The EcoBoost engine achieves a 15-percent reduction in emissions too.

“EcoBoost engine technology is another symbol of what luxury means today,” Fields added. “Lincolns should drive as beautifully as they look, delivering as much refinement on the road as their designs do even while standing perfectly still.”

If the new MKS is any indicator, the MKT’s ride should be comfortable and handling dynamics good for this class.

And if it looks anywhere near as stunning as the MKT concept, the production model should continue Lincoln’s charge as the fastest growing luxury brand in the U.S.

“Embracing the same spirit as the concept, the Lincoln MKT’s design represents harmony in motion, balancing sculptured shapes and contours traditionally associated with beautiful cars on a crossover vehicle that offers the luxury of space and efficient, powerful performance,” commented Peter Horbury, Ford’s executive director of Design for The Americas.

Manufactured at Ford’s Oakville, Ontario plant, we can expect more information closer to launch in November.