Lincoln’s Putting Suicide Doors Back On The Continental

Lincoln revived a legend when it reintroduced the Continental after a fifteen-year absence. One thing it didn’t bring back in the process were the famous “suicide” rear doors. But according to the latest, that’s precisely what it has in store.

Automotive News reports from the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention in Las Vegas this weekend that the automaker revealed to dealers plans to add the feature to “a future version of the Continental sedan.” Though details and timing were not disclosed, and the manufacturer would not comment on the story, multiple dealers leaving the meeting between the automaker and its dealers council confirmed the news.

The rear-hinged rear portals were a signature trait on the fourth-generation Continental from the 1960s. That’s the car immortalized by the Entourage opening and the Kennedy assassination, and is arguably the most iconic of the ten iterations of the Continental that Lincoln’s made to date. It’s also a feature embraced by Rolls-Royce, which calls them “coach” doors.

Lincoln toyed with the idea of bringing them back when it revealed an earlier Continental concept in 2002. That was right around the time that the ninth-generation model was canceled and replaced with the MKS. But that show car never saw production, and the concept that followed in 2015 did without the feature.

What’s unclear from these reports is whether the doors will be applied to the current model, an otherwise updated version thereof, or an entirely new one. The current Continental only went on sale about a year and a half ago.