Drama in the Automotive World comes around in very isolated cases. So, when a Bentley designer asks a Lincoln designer on social media “Do you want us to send the product tooling” after seeing the new Continental Concept at the New York Auto Show, people tend to take notice. People also tend to take notice when the designers saying this is none other than Luc Donckerwolke, a well-known, out-spoken designer know for designing the Lamborghini Murciélago.
The Suspect Continental. We here at Rescars have very different opinions of how it looks.
The comment, which has been already deleted, was posted last week on the Facebook page of Lincoln’s lead designer, David Woodhouse. Since then, people have beginning to point out some similarities between the new Continental and Bentley’s Flying B. However, the question is does Donckerwolke actually have a point? Well, from my perspective, it’s probably fifty-fifty.
The first thing to point out is that this is not the first time that the Ford Motor Company has come under fire for “copying” other vehicles in recent years. When people say the front of the new Focus, they started comparing it to the front of an Aston Martin. However, considering the Aston was owned by Ford for a while, and Ford still owns a piece of the English company, this was a little more understandable than this Lincoln/Bentley controversy.
The Bentley Flying Spur. You can really see what Donckerwolke is talking about with the similarities between the two models.
Looking at these two models, I will not be the first to deny that the Continental and Flying B have a lot of similarities. They are both designed to be luxury cars that aim for somewhat similar markets. Both have a long flowing body lines, prominent front grills, and a similarly shaped front and rear facades. However, this is where the similarities seem to end. The Lincoln’s shape is rounds out a lot more than the squared-up Bentley, has a MUCH smaller grill, and has completely different head and tail lights. In short, the Lincoln is much more modern looking than the old-style coach shaped Bentley.
You have to admit, the EXP 10 Speed 6 looks a lot like an Aston Martin than the Continental looks like the Flying B.
While I see the differences, and I can see the inspiration that Lincoln took, I do not understand why this is any different than the times this has happened in the past. For example, when Cadillac started having success with putting fins on their cars, all of the sudden all cars had them. The Big Three have been “copying” each other for decades, trying to get an upper hand on each other. However, the Bentley and Lincoln are completely different and aim for completely different markets, much like the Focus and the Aston are. Apparently the instant that an American car looks like a European one, everyone starts pointing fingers. This is probably just a coincidence, but the parallels are there. Besides, considering that Bentley’s new EXP 10 Speed 6 looks a lot like an Aston Martin, should a Bentley designer really get bent out of shape about this?
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