After the 01 SUV and 03 sedan, Lynk & Co has officially revealed the 02 crossover at an event in Amsterdam. The newly founded Chinese carmaker has promised to extend its roots from China over to the European markets and hence the 02 is developed keeping the European demands in mind.
The all-new 02 looks like a downsized 01 with all the styling and design elements. The top-mounted headlamps, wide horizontal meshed grille, floating C-pillar, wrap-around LED tail lights and smooth flowing surfaces are all scrounged directly from the 01. It also carries the two-tone body paint, similar to the 01, but gets sporty contrasting accents around the bumpers, side skirts and wheels. The Lynk & Co vehicles will be offered in “personas” instead of trims.
The 02 is based on the scalable Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) platform of its sister company Volvo, which also underpins the other two cars from the new carmaker. The carmaker claims that the suspension is stiffened to improve handling for the European masses, offering a fun to drive element.
Similarly, on the inside, a lot of style cues have been borrowed from the 01. For instance, the massive infotainment touchscreen that continues to occupy the centre console with the use of high quality material and fine finishes for the steering and other interior surfaces. There is a high emphasis on in-car connectivity as the car is always connected to the internet with its advanced telematics systems.
Powering the 02 will be a hybrid powertrain only. The three-cylinder 1.5-litre petrol motor from the XC40 will be mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission gearbox. The plug-in hybrid variant will offer 50 kilometres of pure electric range.
Lynk & Co will produce the 02 at the Ghent facility in Belgium. The crossover will be sold on a subscription basis as the carmaker wants to withdraw from the conventional methods of car buying and ownership experience. The cars will be sold through the so-called “offline stores” in some European cities, the first of which will come up in Amsterdam, with London following soon after along with Barcelona, Berlin and Brussels. It can also be bought through their website for a subscription period of anything between one to thirty-six months. Production is promised to commence in 2019 with sales starting only in 2020.
