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The Lincoln Continental luxury saloon, unveiled
this week by Ford at the New York auto show, resembles the
Bentley Flying Spur, Automotive News reported, citing comments
by Bentley design chief Luc Donckerwolke that were picked up by
online publication Car Design News.
"Do you want us to send the product tooling?" Donckerwolke
posted on Lincoln designer David Woodhouses' Facebook page, a
comment that was subsequently deleted, Automotive News said.
"This behavior is not respectable. Building a copy like this is
giving a bad name to the car design world," Donckerwolke was
quoted as saying by Car Design News.
A spokesman for Bentley, part of Volkswagen, declined to
comment. Lincoln spokesman Stephane Cesareo dismissed the
Bentley designer's criticism.
"The Lincoln Continental is clearly a Lincoln, we're very proud
of it," Cesareo told Reuters.
Ford is reviving the Lincoln Continental as its top-of-the-line
luxury saloon as part of an effort to rebuild the brand's image
in the United States and China.
Volkswagen-owned Bentley has had a Continental in its lineup
since 1984, while Ford retired the Continental name in 2002.
(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; editing by Susan Thomas)
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