Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

Ford’s Mustang-inspired electric crossover will spawn a Lincoln luxury version

By
Stephen Edelstein/Digital Trends

Most Lincoln luxury cars are derived from the more blue collar models of parent Ford. For once, that might be a good thing.

Ford’s first mass-market, long-range electric vehicle will be a crossover inspired by the Mustang. That was always a bizarre proposition: the Mustang isn’t what comes to mind when one thinks of eco-friendly transportation, and the association may anger fans of the ‘Stang. Now it turns out that Lincoln will get its own all-electric model based on the same platform. The electric Lincoln will have unique styling, presumably not inspired by an unrelated muscle car.

Recommended Videos

Kumar Galhotra, head of Ford’s North American operations and former boss of Lincoln, confirmed that the luxury brand would get its own version of the Mustang-inspired crossover in an interview with Automotive News. He said the Lincoln would be “absolutely” distinct in exterior design.

Related

“You can make beautiful vehicles in different ways,” Galhotra said. “The BEV [battery-electric vehicle] technology gives us so much freedom to sculpt that vehicle exactly how we want it. We’re going to create elegant Lincoln BEVs.”

Galhotra did not say when the electric Lincoln would arrive, but the Mustang-inspired electric model is expected to launch in 2020, with an estimated range of around 300 miles. Ford previously said it would launch six all-electric models by 2022. The Lincoln will likely be part of that contingent.

Many automakers are developing electric cars to meet stricter global emissions standards, but for Lincoln it may just be a matter of keeping up with the competition. Incited by Tesla, luxury brands are launching a wave of electric cars, such as the Jaguar I-Pace, Audi e-tron, Mercedes-Benz EQ, and upcoming Porsche Taycan. Lincoln’s arch rival, Cadillac, just announced plans for its own electric crossover. Cadillac parent General Motors plans to launch 20 all-electric models by 2023.

Ford is investing $11 billion in hybrid and all-electric vehicles, including hybrid versions of the Mustang and F-150 pickup truck. At the 2019 Detroit Auto Show, Jim Farley, Ford president of global markets, also confirmed an all-electric F-150. Ford may also collaborate with Volkswagen on electric cars as part of a new partnership between the two companies.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Stephen Edelstein
Stephen Edelstein
Contributing Editor
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Ford EV drivers can use 12,000 Tesla Superchargers starting in 2024
A Tesla Supercharger.

Drivers of Ford’s electric vehicles (EVs) will find charging them a little easier starting next spring after Tesla on Thursday promised the availability of 12,000 of its Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada.

The move will double the number of fast-chargers currently available to Ford’s EV owners.

Read more
Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV is old-school luxury — electrified
Front three quarter view of the Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV.

Mercedes-Benz is preparing for an electric future with its EQ models, a line of EVs with futuristic aerodynamic styling and all of the latest infotainment tech. With several EQ models already in production, Mercedes is shifting focus to more traditional luxury.
The Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV is the first all-electric vehicle from Maybach, the ultra-luxury subbrand of Mercedes. It takes the EQS SUV launched in 2022 and bathes it in opulence, adding more chrome on the outside and more creature comforts on the inside.
Scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. this fall, the Maybach is an unusual EV proposition, taking what is supposed be a forward-thinking design and wrapping it in old-school luxury. Ahead of its launch, Digital Trends got an up-close look at the Maybach EQS SUV to see how Mercedes is trying to balance those two aspects.

Germany's Rolls-Royce goes electric
The Maybach name has great historical significance for Mercedes. Wilhelm Maybach was one of the earliest automotive engineers. He designed the first Mercedes-branded car for the Daimler company (now Daimler-Benz), but struck out on his own after a falling out with company management. His eponymous company built Zeppelin engines, luxury cars, and, during World War II, engines for German military vehicles.
Daimler-Benz took control of Maybach in the 1960s, but left the passenger-car business dormant. Mercedes then revived the Maybach name in the early 2000s as a competitor to the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, both of which are owned by rival German automakers. Given Wilhelm Maybach's history with Mercedes, it essentially brought things full circle.
The 21st-century Maybach brand started out with standalone models in the form of the Maybach 57 and Maybach 62 sedans (as well as the stunning Exelero prototype), but production ended in 2012 amid dwindling sales. Mercedes then switched to making Maybach-branded versions of existing models like the S-Class sedan and GLS-Class SUV, a pattern that continues with the Maybach EQS SUV.

Read more
Business upfront, 31-inch TV in the back. BMW’s electric i7 is a screening room on wheels
Front three quarter view of the 2023 BMW i7.

The BMW 7 Series has been the venerable German automaker’s flagship for more than 40 years, but with its latest redesign, BMW is taking things in a new — and electrifying — direction.
The 2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 (or i7 for short) is the first all-electric 7 Series in the model’s history. It’s positioned against electric luxury sedans like the Lucid Air, Tesla Model S, and the Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan, a longtime BMW rival. But BMW took a different approach with its electric chariot of the affluent.
Because while those other EVs are based on clean-sheet designs, the i7 is just one version of a car that continues with combustion engines. It shares styling and tech — including an available fold-down, rear-seat widescreen monitor — with internal-combustion 7 Series models. So it offers a more traditional approach to luxury for EV buyers who don’t want to change anything about their cars except the method of propulsion.
Those buyers will also pay a slight premium. The i7 starts at $120,295, compared to $114,595 for the 760i xDrive, the first gasoline 7 Series model of the new generation. BMW also plans to offer a less expensive gasoline 740i for $94,295 sometime after launch. But when you’re spending this much on a new car, those aren’t huge differences.

Design and interior
The new 7 Series — and by extension the i7 — is sure to prove controversial due to BMW’s new front-end styling, which combines a massive grille sure to stoke internet memes and odd-looking two-tiered headlights. The effect is exaggerated by an available blacked-out front-end treatment, which makes it look like parts are missing.
Those styling elements carry over from gasoline 7 Series models to the i7, as does the hulk-like body shell, which is abnormally tall for a sedan, requiring steps at the hood and rear bumper to blend them with the thick center section of the body. The i7 also retains a long protruding hood, which is necessary to house the engine in gasoline 7 Series models, but is just an affectation here.
BMW claims the i7 will appeal to buyers who want a traditional luxury sedan first and an EV second. To be fair, the i7 is much more conventional-looking than the streamlined Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan and Lucid Air, or the grille-less Tesla Model S. But some of that work has been undone by BMW’s unorthodox design choices in other areas, which may not appeal to traditionalists either.
The i7 is sure to prove controversial due to BMW's new front-end styling.

Read more