CarBrandLogos archive · Lincoln · 2002

LincolnLincoln Aviator

A badge-engineered failure the first time, and a proper car the second.

Photo: Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Lincoln history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Lincoln Aviator, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The first Aviator, sold from 2002 to 2005, was a mid-size SUV that shared almost everything with the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer. Lincoln added a 4.6-litre V8, a different grille and better trim, and asked a substantially higher price. Buyers who could see the Explorer parked next to it in the same dealership group were unconvinced, and the model was dropped after three model years.

Lincoln Aviator · IFCAR · Public domain

Design and engineering

The name returned in 2019 attached to a much more serious effort. The second Aviator sits on Ford's CD6 architecture, which is designed around a longitudinal engine and rear-wheel drive with all-wheel drive optional, so it has proportions the first car never had: a long bonnet, the cabin set back, and handling that does not feel like a converted front-driver. Engines are turbocharged V6s, including a plug-in hybrid Grand Touring version that combines the petrol engine with an electric motor for a substantial combined output.

Lincoln Aviator · IFCAR · Public domain

In production

It was received far better than its predecessor, slotting between the Corsair and the Navigator in a three-row body, and it is one of the models that established Lincoln's current interior design language of wide horizontal dashboards and quiet materials.

Lincoln Aviator 2002-2005 backright U · Detectandpreserve · CC BY-SA 3.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2002–2005

Body

5-door SUV

Technical specification

The Lincoln Aviator, in detail.

Production: 2002–2005 ; 2019–present
Class: Mid-size luxury SUV (2002–2005) ; Mid-size Luxury car; luxury crossover SUV (2019–present)
Body style: 5-door SUV
Layout: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout; Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive ; Front-engine, four-wheel-drive layout; Front-engine, four-wheel-drive
Manufacturer: Lincoln (Ford)

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