NEW YORK MOTOR SHOW: Lincoln Conti a copy, says Bentley designer

Bentley's chief designer, Luc Donckerwolke, has attacked Ford’s luxurious Lincoln brand for copying his Flying Spur when creating the new Continental concept to be revealed at this week's New York motor show.

Taking to Facebook to vent his anger, Donckerwolke wrote about the new Lincoln Continental concept on his page: "I would have called it Flying Spur concept and kept the four round lights”.

It’s been reported another professional car designer joined in to publically back the Bentley designer: "I thought this was only done in China? Finally a 'Bentley for the masses’,” he joked.

So infuriated, Donckerwolke continued his criticism on Lincoln’s chief designer David Woodhouse’s Facebook page. The Belgian Bentley designer joked: "Do you want us to send the product tooling?"

The comment was deleted shortly after.

Speaking to CarDesignNews.com, Donckerwolke explained his Facebook tirade: "This behaviour is not respectable. Building a copy like this is giving a bad name to the car design world."

Meanwhile, fellow Bentley exterior design chief, Sangyup Lee, described the Lincoln to CarDesignNews.com as "a joke," adding: "It is very disappointing, especially for an exclusive brand like Lincoln."

It is unclear whether the British car-maker will seek a legal recourse against Ford.