Unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in January, the Lincoln MKT crossover seems to be the main argument of Ford renewing the Lincoln brand. After many years of being considerated only rebadged Fords, Lincoln decided to begin reviving the vehicles with new brands like MKZ and MKX.
The new MKT will use the same architecture as the new Ford Flex but the resemblence stops here. Sources confirmed the fact that the design work is well under way but officially Ford did not reveal any clue.
Fixing Lincoln remains a big strategy of Ford’s CEO Alan Mullay. As he said, the MKT represents a very important vehicle that could get Ford back into the luxury segment and compete with brand like Bmw, Mercedes and Infiniti.
Being motivated by the by the growth of sales with more than 9% last year, Allan Murray decided to sell off Jaguar and Land Rover and to focus the company’s resources to revive the Lincoln Brand and make it a serious contender on the luxury segment. Apparently the MKT crossover will be available in May 2009 but sources confirm the fact that this could happen earlier.
The Lincoln MKT concept featured a 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost engine with turbocharging and direct injection that produced the power and torque of a V8 engine with the fuel efficiency of a V6.. The company will begin introducing EcoBoost engines delivering up to 20 % better fuel economy on half a million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles annually in North America within the next five years.
