Back in late 2018, we rejoiced when Lincoln announced that it was making 80 special edition 2019 Lincoln Continentals with rear-hinging suicide doors. All 80 of those cars sold in 48 hours, so Lincoln later promised to build more for 2020. Now Lincoln is delivering on that, but if you want to buy the new 2020 Lincoln Continental Coach Door Edition, get ready to drop some serious coin.
Lincoln is starting to do what I think Cadillac should be doing. It’s not lacing its press releases with too many instances of the word “dynamism,” it’s not really trying to compete with the Germans, it’s emphasizing what historically made Lincolns cool in the first place: swag.
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And there are few better ways for a car to exude swag than by hinging its doors from the rear, just like the four-door convertible 1961 Lincoln Continental that one of the more stylish of presidents, John F. Kennedy, rolled around in. (Maybe a B-pillarless design could come close, but I don’t see that happening with modern safety requirements).
The return of the suicide door-equipped Continental, officially called the 2020 Lincoln Continental Coach Door Edition, is quit exciting, as is the fact that, per Cnet’s car-site, Roadshow, Lincoln will build 150 examples instead of just 80. The $115,470-plus-destination asking price for a car with Ford Fusion underpinnings may sound a bit tough to swallow, but the 2019 model cost around $110,000, and it seemed that some were willing to take that hit.
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The car is based on the top-trim Continental, the “Black Label” series, which itself—with the 400 horsepower 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 mated to an all wheel drive system as equipped on this Coach Door Edition—starts at around $78,000.
This Coach Door Edition isn’t just a Continental with some fancy doors thrown on, though, it’s actually got a six-inch longer wheelbase than the standard car, and involved Lincoln Partnering with a coach-builder, as Car and Driver wrote back in 2018:
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.
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The car gets quite a few interior niceties on top of the Black Label car, as Lincoln points out in the press release posted to Motor1:
- New, Standard Features:
o Flow-through rear console includes: hard-trim cushion table, dual tablet / notebook holders, wireless charging pad, 2 USB outlets and 110V power outlet, deployable handbook hook, audio and climate controls with 4” display screen and Continental Coach Door Edition badging
o Secured pass-through storage compartment
o Illuminated aluminum rear-door sills
o Dual dear door umbrella hold with Lincoln umbrella
Adding to that, there are some new colors and interior “themes.” It all sounds quit nice, and exactly what a flagship Lincoln should be. If you want one, Lincoln says ordering starts today and continues to the end of the month, with shipments of the suicide-door Lincolns happening sometime in the spring.
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