These days, if you want a car with suicide doors -- rear doors that are hinged to open in the opposite direction to usual -- you have to throw down six figures' worth of cash and buy a Rolls-Royce. But Lincoln might have a (hopefully) radically cheaper option coming your way.
Lincoln took to its social media channels Thursday to tease something involving suicide doors. It posted a picture of the center-opening doors on the old-school Continental, and it ended the post with the line, "#TBT... or is it?" That's all but explicit confirmation that Lincoln has another set of suicide doors planned for the new Continental.
Making a statement without a word. Center-opening doors elevated the Lincoln #Continental of the mid 1960's to the pinnacle of mid-century style, a car driven by the likes of Pablo Picasso. #TBT... or is it? Stay tuned to our Instagram feed for more. pic.twitter.com/KZ7OYEqDzP
— Lincoln Motor Company (@LincolnMotorCo) December 13, 2018
What's unclear is how this will all take shape. Will it just be a concept previewing some farther-off feature, or will it be something Lincoln will actually make work on a proper production vehicle?
If the latter is the case, that'll be impressive, considering the automaker will likely have to crash-test its car all over again (at great cost, mind you) to ensure everything is up to regulatory snuff. Unlike the Continental of yore, it'd be smart to expect that this new Continental will have a pillar between the doors -- it's super unlikely that pillar-free suicide doors could withstand modern crash tests. Rolls-Royce sedans with suicide doors still have a B-pillar.
Sedans aren't exactly the hottest commodity on the market at the moment, and this move could be a smart way on Lincoln's part both to appeal to nostalgia and to get buyers to reconsider a sedan in this era of SUV ubiquity. Hopefully, we'll find out soon.
