New spy photos reveal that the Lincoln Navigator is getting a major redesign. The full-size luxury SUV is shown wearing a tight-fitting but concealing camouflage wrap over most of its boxy body. White coverings hide portions of the SUV’s revamped face, but a few styling hints suggest the 2024 Nautilus might influence the Navigator’s new design.
The Navigator features a brand-new face with a restyled grille, a new front bumper, and redesigned headlights. It’s difficult to pick out any specific design details, and any potential influence from the new Nautilus is hard to find in the fascia. There are no good photos of the interior, but it doesn’t appear to feature the Nautilus’ 48.0-inch dash-spanning display just yet. That could change throughout the development cycle.
However, the crossover’s stylistic fingerprints are much more visible at the Navigator’s rear. Only the taillights’ outer edges poke through the camouflage, but they’re shaped the same as those on the Nautilus, along with the sloped liftgate that looks to have grown taller. The rear roof spoiler appears more pronounced, and an ugly tailpipe sticks out the back that could suggest Lincoln has plans to make updates to the powertrain. However, it’s too early to know what those might be.
The current Navigator uses the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 making 440 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque. It pairs with the brand’s 10-speed automatic transmission. Lincoln could restore the 10 hp lost with the 2022 refresh, possibly bringing output back to the original 450 hp. It could also increase the model’s fuel economy figures.
Lincoln hasn’t really revealed its EV roadmap. It has introduced several concepts that hint at the brand’s electrified future, but we haven’t seen any production EVs break cover yet. It seems inevitable that Lincoln will eventually electrify the Navigator, but the spied SUV lacks any visible cutouts that could be used for a charging port.
However, Lincoln might be working on such a Navigator as the model’s chief rival, the Cadillac Escalade, is going electric later this year. In May, Cadillac teased the Escalade IQ but provided few details. It’ll likely use General Motors’ Ultium platform that underpins the automaker’s latest EVs.
While it debuts later this year, that doesn’t mean Cadillac will begin producing it anytime soon, so Lincoln might not need to rush. The time between an automaker revealing a new electric vehicle and starting production feels longer than ever.
Lincoln launched the fourth-generation Navigator in 2018 and saw sales jump to over 17,000. However, they have been falling since 2020 to just 13,206 in 2022. Cadillac sold nearly double the number of Escalades in 2022, even though sales were down 40 percent compared to 2021.
We don’t know when Lincoln plans to reveal the new Navigator. The SUV received a mid-cycle fresh for the 2022 model year, gaining new styling front and rear and the latest technology underneath. That means we might not see the redesigned model debut until early next year as a 2025 model.
