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NEWS
SPY PICS: Lincoln MKS testing in Geelong
Next generation front-wheel drive prestige sedan spotted in the vicinity of Ford Australia's proving groundFord Australia is reported to be carrying out local testing of products for international markets, including next-generation Lincolns. And these exclusive spy shots provide supporting evidence.
According to motoring.com.au reader, 'Roo', the photos taken on his smartphone on Friday show two of three heavily disguised large sedans travelling in convoy and accompanied by an FPV F6X (Territory Turbo) shepherding them and fending off the occasional curious bystander.
First spotted at Highton, the cars appeared to be driving a test loop that concluded in the You Yangs area, the location of Ford Australia's proving grounds. The three cars looked larger than the current Mondeo and all three were left-hand drive and loaded to the gills with test equipment.
Close inspection of the pictures reveals styling details shared with the current Lincoln MKZ – a Fusion/Mondeo-based mid-sized front-wheel drive sedan that has been in production since 2012. The high boot with vestigial spoiler lip, the exhaust tips, the kink in lower corner of windows abutting the C pillars and the masked-over kidney windows all point to the MKZ.
But this car is larger, and is more likely to be the next-generation of MKS, which was facelifted last year but has been in production in its current series since 2009. Apart from matching more closely the size of the test vehicles, the MKS is also due for renewal much sooner than the MKZ. At least one of the test vehicles photographed is fitted with alloy wheels offered on the current MKZ, which could be intended to throw observers off the track. While the clues are not definitive, these cars had registration plate mounts in the boot lid, rather than the rear bumper, as the MKZ does. And the tail lights don't appear to be full width.
Frontal styling – under the camo – looks more like a Ford corporate treatment than one of Lincoln's, which suggests the cars have been carefully disguised to resemble what a future Taurus may look like. But the current model, which was facelifted last year, has a grille canted at a shallower angle than the very upright 'grille' under the camo of the test cars.
Subsequent investigation with VicRoads revealed nothing about the vehicles from the registration numbers – which were all in sequence. Even the F6X registration was not in the public domain.
Current MKZ and Taurus pics are included for the purposes of comparison. The Taurus is a blue SHO model.
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Written byCarsales Staff
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