Another auto show another promise from Ford to reignite interest in its underperforming Lincoln brand. This time the place is the upcoming 2012 Detroit Motor Show and the product is a concept model that will preview the next generation of Lincoln’s MKZ mid-size sedan.
Along with the new study, Ford says it plans to highlight the relaunch of its struggling luxury brand with a new display area at the Cobo Center in Detroit, which will be 50 percent larger than last year and feature an art gallery with art and decor by artist Chuck Hoberman.
“This is the biggest statement Lincoln has ever made at an auto show,” Max Wolff, Lincoln’s director of design, told the Detroit Free Press in a statement. “Our NAIAS display represents more than a vehicle debut. It represents the reinvention of Lincoln.”
Though Lincoln didn’t reveal any more details on the MKZ study, the mid-size sedan will share its platform architecture with the next Ford Fusion that will debut in production form in Detroit and its European counterpart, the Mondeo. And like its Ford sibling, it will continue to use a front-wheel-drive platform with all-wheel drive likely to be offered as an option.
Lincoln has said that it will introduce seven brand new or significantly updated models by 2014. At the recent L.A. Auto Show, the company revealed the facelifted versions of the MKS sedan and MKT crossover.
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