Lincoln MKR concept car continues to turn heads

I was pleased to see the MKR again in New York, as it is one of those rare cars that looks better in person than it does in photographs. The long hood, flowing, sinuous body lines, and big wedge-shaped chrome grille give it the elegance a luxury cruiser should have. This second encounter serves as a reminder of a secondary benefit of new-car shows, the ability for manufacturers to introduce concepts, design, and technology, and for consumers to glimpse the possible cars of tomorrow.

Lincoln unveiled the MKR concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last January. Rather than allow just a one-time viewing, the MKR has traveled on the auto-show circuit with the potential for hundreds of thousands more show-goers to set eyes on it.

What this reporter finds unusual about the MKR is that for the first time in a great while, Lincoln has a car design that stands out from the crowd, at least in terms of looks. A few years ago Cadillac did something similar with the CTS whose crisp lines were later applied to the DTS and STS sedans.

The MKR as shown will not be built. It's a design exercise that demonstrates some styling cues promised for the next generation of Lincoln production cars. Those include a tail-light strip that runs horizontally across the whole width of the trunk, as well as the big, prominent chrome grille and a long style line running along the body sides.

The concept MKR is called a "four door coupe," although it's not exactly clear why it shouldn't be considered a sedan. The slope of the roof? The thickness of the middle roof pillar? Who knows?

The MKR concept has no visible door handles. Instead, the doors are opened by small chrome buttons that blend into the window trim. Clever but probably not practical.

The interior goes farther out into unreality, with a sweeping fore-and-aft console that effectively erects a partition between the two rear seats. Interior trim also employs a lot of "green" recycled or recyclable materials such as "chemical-free leather" and soy-based seat foam. Maybe that's supposed to make you feel better about driving a huge, powerful car. The MKR has a rear-wheel-drive chassis and a turbocharged version of Ford's newest 3.5-liter V6, said to be good for 415 horsepower. So much for being green. However, if Lincoln's next flagship looks like the MKR, then it will turn plenty of heads at future auto shows and on the street. 

--Gordon Hard