Lincoln Continental Presidential: a Great Leap Forward in Luxury
China’s thirst for American executive sedans knows no bounds, so Lincoln is rubbing its palms together and giving the red-hot luxury market exactly what it wants: piles and piles of prestige.
The Continental nameplate is already soaked in presidential history, but for the Chinese market, the company’s flagship model needed something a little more…obvious. These images from China’s Autohome (via Carscoops) reveals Lincoln’s elegant solution — the addition of a “Presidential” badge to the sedan’s rear.
The Continental will get its Chinese debut at the Beijing Motor Show on April 25, and Lincoln clearly wants to put its best foot forward. While the base model comes with front-wheel drive and a naturally-aspired V6, no one would expect that of a Continental with Presidential written all over it.
When you’re president, there shouldn’t be anyone above you, and this rule is especially true in Communist China — hell, there shouldn’t even be competition! Expect to see Lincoln’s 400 horsepower twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 under that hood.
The only other obvious change to the China-bound model is the clear turn signal lenses. Also, expect there to be no new car smell once you hop inside.
The Continental premiered in the U.S. at the North American International Auto Show in January, and will roll onto dealer lots later this year. Base price for a front-wheel drive, 3.7-liter model has been pegged at $45,485, including destination and delivery.
More by Steph Willems
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The booties on the tires are nice - Howard Hughes would like that. Also, how long before those Presidential badges show up for sale on eBay? And before they start showing up on US Continentals, shod with bling wheels from Rent-A-Tire?
"no new car smell" The irony that this is the country that sends us the olfactory scud missile known as Harbor Freight...