Actual people are attending the 2021 Shanghai auto show in person this week, which seems a little wild considering the year we’ve had. Regardless, automakers have arrived to reveal new cars, and among those introduced the 2021 Lincoln Zephyr Reflection concept sedan is quite the looker.
No official details on the powertrain for the new Zephyr have been releases, but there is a fuel or charging door on the rear fender in a fairly traditional location. The concept was unveiled alongside a new Chinese-market Corsair plug-in hybrid, so perhaps we can infer that the upcoming Zephyr sedan could be similar. A photo from the rear angle appears to show some sort of outlet in the middle of the rear diffuser, which could be an exhaust.
The midsize model will replace the current MKZ sedan as the brand’s entry-level vehicle in the region when it goes into production, likely later this year. The brand’s design concept of Quiet Flight results in a sculpted exterior with a large new hexagonal grille bisected by a daytime-running-light strip stretching the width of the body, with a matching light bar in the rear.
Inside, the Zephyr concept sports a screen as wide as the dashboard, stretching from the driver to the passenger with only a small dead zone separating the driver’s display from the main graphic. The console appears to feature flush buttons (potentially haptic) for core infotainment features. The drive selector buttons are curiously located on the dashboard next to the volume knob under the screen, and the radio controls are down in the console. I would have done the opposite.
While there’s no official word on whether or not the Lincoln Zephyr Reflection concept sedan could potentially translate to a U.S. model in the future, Ford North America product communications manager Mike Levine did tweet that the preview was “for China.” Still, this car looks too good to not put that face on something we can buy, so I bet we get something like the Zephyr soon enough.
Lincoln claims this new model “redefines American luxury.” So why can’t Americans buy it?
