Lincoln does not build many cars like the Lincoln MKS: a 4-door sedan with 3.7 L Ford Cyclone engine, built from 2008 to 2016 in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. Its designer of record is Peter Horbury (design chief) / Robert Gelardi (exterior: 2005) / Max Wolff (2013 facelift).
How it came about
The Lincoln MKS is a full-size luxury car which was manufactured by Ford and marketed by its Lincoln division for the 2009-through-2016 model years (MY), having entered production in May 2008. Primarily sold in the North American market, it is a four-door sedan with seating for five occupants and received a facelift for MY 2013. Following the Lincoln MKR concept vehicle, Lincoln presented the MKS at the LA Auto Show in November 2007, with sales beginning in June 2008. It is based on the Ford D3 platform (a revised variant of the Volvo P2 platform) with a front-mounted engine and either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
The MKS shares this platform with the other so-called Chicago D3's, the Ford Flex, Lincoln MKT, and the fifth-generation Ford Taurus, which were manufactured at Ford's Chicago Assembly plant in Chicago, Illinois. The MKS uses V6 engines, with the launch model using a 3.7-liter Ford Cyclone engine, while a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine (shared with the Taurus SHO) was added for 2010. The base Cyclone engine was revised to a Ti-VCT specification for 2013. The MKS was discontinued after 2016, with domestic MKS production having reached 100,248 for MY 2009–2016. It was replaced by the tenth generation Lincoln Continental.
The hardware
Under the skin sits 3.7 L Ford Cyclone engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 4127 lb. The gearbox is a 6-speed 6F50 automatic / 6-speed 6F55 automatic. The wheelbase is 112.9 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in Lincoln's history is not in doubt: the Lincoln Continental came before it; the Lincoln Continental (2017) followed it; it was built at Ford Chicago Assembly, Chicago, Illinois, United States. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Tesla Roadster, the Nissan 370Z, the Hyundai i30. Its Lincoln stablemates include the Lincoln First Call and the Lincoln Funeral Car.