Lincoln revealed a Continental sedan with suicide doors earlier in March of this year at a closed-door dealer meeting in Las Vegas, showcasing what it called a "Coach Door Continental," and indicated to those present that the feature will appear on the next major refresh of the sedan. That next major refresh is expected in 2019 as a 2020 model, which suggests that we're only a short time away from the debut of the production version of the updated sedan.

The automaker followed up on months of rumors with a Facebook post this week with a photo of the door handles of a classic 1960s Continental sedan, further raising speculation of the return of this design with the next update of the Continental.

But an important question remains even if Lincoln brings back this feature: Will it be an option that customers can select (for an extra sum, undisclosed for now), or will it be standard on all versions of the sedan? This is an important question -- some customers may not be enamored with the concept itself, making it a deal-breaker for those who could be otherwise interested in this luxury sedan.

And curiously enough, the suicide-doored Continental that Lincoln showed in the spring of 2018 in Las Vegas was not a pillarless design -- this would require re-engineering much of the structure -- which means that the rear door hinges will be transferred to the C pillar with a few modifications. Overall, it's not a complex engineering exercise as various tuners and coachbuilders do this all the time, but it will keep costs down for implementation in the middle of a product cycle.

Lincoln teased the return of suicide doors this week on Facebook with a shot of the classic Continental.

This isn't the first time Lincoln has toyed with the idea of offering suicide doors, last seen on the Kennedy-era Continentals -- the automaker exhibited this feature on the well-received 2002 Continental sedan concept. That concept did feature a pillarless greenhouse structure along with a number of other design elements borrowed from the 1961 Continental, especially the design of the front fascia.

The 2020 Continental is expected to go on sale in the first half of 2019 and to feature subtle exterior and interior design changes, which will mark the first update of the tenth-generation car.

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