All 80 of the special edition, $100,000 Lincoln Continental featuring “suicide doors” sold out in less than two days, the company said Monday. Ford’s luxury brand debuted the 80th Anniversary Lincoln Continental Coach Door Edition in mid-December, selling the car on a first-come, first-serve basis, unlike the buying process for the Ford GT supercar, which required an application. Lincoln announced it will do another limited run next year, though the vehicles will have slight differences.
The coach doors, commonly known as “suicide doors,” are a major highlight of the car. The rear doors open towards the rear of the car, which was a common feature on Lincoln Continentals in the ‘60s. The wheelbase is nearly six inches longer than the standard model and come with Lincoln’s Black Label trim, the highest trim level available across Lincoln’s lineup, as CNBC reports.
Selling sedan is quite difficult these days, as customers typically lean towards SUVs, crossovers and pickups. The Continental and the mid-size MKZ are the only two sedans Lincoln still sells. Lincoln also sells four crossover and SUV models, and will launch a fifth, the resurrected Aviator, later this year.
However, selling a car still sends a message. “Cars can still be effective to help represent where a brand is and where it is going. It be a kind of spiritual guide for the brand, even if it is not a sales leader,” said Karl Brauer, executive publisher for Cox Automotive.
The Continental became a powerful symbol of Lincoln’s resurgence since the latest generation debuted for the 2017 model year. The vehicle’s collected several popular reviews when it first debuted and many believed this was a sign the brand was returning to its original roots in American luxury vehicles.
“The Continental signaled that Lincoln was going back to its roots, both in terms of naming and in terms of the expressive styling it had been known for, for so many decades,” Brauer said.
