Yahoo Autos The Lincoln Continental Gets Coach Doors and a Six-Inch Stretch for a Cool $100,000
Lincoln would prefer that you associate its modern-day Continental with the elegant luxury flagship sedan of the 1960s rather than, say, the Ford Taurus–based Continental from the 1990s. So it's attempting to make the historic link a bit stronger with a new limited-run Continental Coach Door Edition with center-opening "suicide" doors reminiscent of the iconic 1961 Continental. This limited-run model for 2019 also ties in with the 80th anniversary of the Continental nameplate, which originated in 1939 as the name for a one-off personal car created for Edsel Ford.
While the new Continental Coach Door Edition isn't quite that special, it is now the only sedan this side of a Rolls-Royce you can buy with this unusual door arrangement. The doors open 90 degrees and incorporate a soft-close feature and the same electronic door handles as the standard Continental. To create this vehicle, Lincoln partnered with Cabot Coach Builders, which stretched the Continental's wheelbase six inches, fitted longer doors with hinges in the rear, and added structural reinforcements to ensure that the car meets safety regulations. Lincoln says to expect a weight gain of 100 to 150 pounds.
Inside, the rear seat is rearranged to incorporate two cushy individual chairs, a large center console, and amenities such as tray tables and a tablet holder. Touches commemorating the 80th anniversary include a doorsill plate denoting the car with its series number out of 80 and a plaque for the rear console that's customizable by the owner. As on the standard Continental Black Label model, owners can choose between beige Chalet or brown Thoroughbred interior upholstery.
All Continental Coach Door Editions will come as fully loaded Black Label models with all-wheel drive and the same 400-hp twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 that's optional on the standard car. The price will be steep: Lincoln says to expect it to come in above $100,000, a more than $20,000 upcharge over a comparably equipped 2019 Continental Black Label.
Only 80 examples of the 80th Anniversary Continental Coach Door Edition will be produced for the 2019 model year, with deliveries starting in June. But because Lincoln anticipates additional demand for this car, it says it will produce an undetermined number of 2020 Continental Coach Door Edition cars, although those won't wear the 80th Anniversary designation. So if you want your new Continental to be as historic as possible, contact your dealer sooner rather than later.
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