Ford to officially announce Lincoln MKT today

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Lincoln MKT concept.

We've been waiting for an official production announcement of the Lincoln MKT since the concept was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in January, and according to Automotive News and the Wall Street Journal, that confirmation comes today. The Ford Flex-based crossover will give Lincoln a seven-seat CUV to compete with the Acura MDX and the Audi Q7, while providing customers a more fuel efficient alternative to the Navigator. The production MKT will share none of the Flex's boxy sheet metal, but the mechanicals will be very similar. The MKT will launch with either the 3.5L V6 from the Flex or the bored-out 3.7L version from the MKS sedan. The MKT will get Ecoboost at some point in its production run, but Ford hasn't released a date yet. Ford plans to build approximately 25k Lincoln MKTs annually, and production is slated to begin next year.

[Source: Automotive News (subs req'd)]