- lincoln is introducing a new sedan model called the zephyr for the chinese market.
- it features a design based on a concept car from earlier this year and has a modern-looking interior.
- we don't expect the zephyr to come to the u.s. market anytime soon.
while lincoln has abandoned the sedan bodystyle in its home market, it's forging ahead in that segment elsewhere as evidenced by the new zephyr for china. originally unveiled as a concept car earlier this year, the zephyr has now made its production debut and will go on sale in china in early 2022. its u.s. prospects are slim to none, but we think it's still interesting to observe from afar.
with a wheelbase measuring 117.7 inches, the zephyr is in between the previous mkz and continental in terms of size. lincoln doesn't say whether it has front- or all-wheel drive, but it appears to use a transverse architecture like those previous fusion-based sedans did. it's powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four and uses an eight-speed automatic transmission but we don't know specific power figures.
the overall design is modern and attractive, if not particularly distinctive, with a full-width light bar and prominent lincoln badge at the front, a strong character line along the side, and angular taillights at the rear. inside there's a digital gauge cluster and a huge infotainment display that stretches across the entire dashboard to give the appearance of wall-to-wall screens.
despite not being relevant to lincoln's current u.s. lineup, the zephyr provides an interesting look at an alternate universe in which lincoln still sold luxury sedans on our shores.