The Lincoln Zephyr Is Back- For China

Back in the 1930s, American luxury automaker Lincoln introduced the Zephyr, a four-door luxury sedan. After being discontinued following the start of World War II in 1942, the Zephyr name would be retired until 2006, when it would be used on a Ford Fusion-based midsized luxury sedan. However, the Zephyr name would only be used for a single model year, as Lincoln renamed the Zephyr the MKZ in 2007 in order to comply with their new three-letter naming scheme for their new introductions. While Lincoln has chosen to focus entirely on crossover SUV's (CUV's) and SUV's for its home market of North America, the luxury brand is still manufacturing traditional four-door sedans for its other markets. For 2022, the Zephyr name is back, once again being used on a luxury sedan. However, Americans won't be getting behind the wheel of the all-new Zephyr, as the vehicle is Lincoln's first vehicle that will be produced exclusively for the Chinese market. Read on to find out more about the all-new Lincoln Zephyr.

First shown as a concept vehicle only a few short months ago, the all-new 2022 Lincoln Zephyr introduces a new styling direction for the luxury brand. Up front, there's a large grille that is split in half by a horizontal bar that also integrates the familiar Lincoln emblem. Full-LED front headlamps integrate nicely into the front grille, and there is a large front bumper with integrated air inlets. The side profile, like other vehicles in Lincoln's lineup, is very smooth in appearance, with the characteristic Lincoln side scuttles, and an aerodynamic profile. In the rear, it seems that Lincoln has taken a page out of Geely-owned Volvo's design book (also a Chinese-owned brand), as the all-new Zephyr features a rear-end design that's similar to that of the current-generation Volvo S60 midsize luxury sedan. This includes an LED "3D Floating" rear tail lamp bar that's nicely integrated into the rear trunk (deck) lid, and the 'LINCOLN' script spelled out in the center connecting bar. There's also a large rear window, which slopes downwards to integrate into the rear trunk (deck) lid.

Moving into the interior, the all-new 2022 Lincoln Zephyr features a twelve-inch (12.0") full-color Thin-Film Transistor (TFT) LCD reconfigurable instrument cluster that integrates directly into a twenty-seven inch (27.0") "Coast-to-Coast" infotainment system LCD screen. The two-spoke steering wheel is very simplistic in design, and not only integrates the traditional Lincoln emblem on the center driver's side airbag cover, but also integrates touch-sensitive controls for most vehicle functions. Attention to detail is very apparent on the new Zephyr's interior, with metal power window control switches, subtle bright accents, genuine aluminum door speaker grilles, and color-contrasting interior color schemes with perforated seating surfaces. What's more, the full suite of Lincoln CoPilot360 2.0 driver assistance features comes as standard equipment on every Zephyr, with semi-autonomous driving capabilities via L2+-enabled Lincoln ActiveGlide. Finally, to provide Zephyr drivers and their passengers a calming experience, there's a 128-color configurable LED ambient lighting system, including four "Relaxing Modes".

The all-new 2022 Lincoln Zephyr's only engine option (as of now) is the popular 2.0L Ford EcoBoost turbocharged Inline Four-Cylinder (I4) gasoline engine, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission that's controlled via front center console-mounted pushbuttons. Lincoln will build the all-new 2022 Zephyr at is factory in China, where it will go on sale in early 2022. What do you think of the all-new 2022 Lincoln Zephyr? Would you like to see it sold in North America? Let us know in the comments down below, and stay tuned right here to DriveTribe for more information as it becomes available!