The Blackwood is certainly the most interesting vehicle in Lincoln’s recent history. Based on the Ford F-150, it got the Navigator’s face, a four-seat interior, rear-wheel drive, and a carpeted bed. It was weird in all the right ways, which is probably why it flopped. The Blackwood was less usable than both its F-150 counterpart and its closest competitor, the Escalade EXT, while being more expensive than the latter. Lincoln sold just 3,383 units for the 2002 model year before pulling the plug.
Now, a rumor from Autoweek suggests Ford might be reapproaching the Blackwood strategy again, but instead of giving its most popular truck a luxury overhaul, it’ll be doing the same thing to its most interesting SUV, the Bronco.
The report, citing unnamed sources, claims Lincoln could introduce a body-on-frame SUV that uses Bronco underpinnings before the end of the decade. And it’s going to target some seriously heavy-hitters in the luxury off-roader segment. From Autoweek:
The two-row Lincoln will ride on the body-on-frame platform that underpins the Ford Bronco, according to one of the sources, who drew the comparison with the Merc G-Wagen—which also makes the Range Rover another likely target.
The report claims the upcoming Lincoln-badged, Bronco-based SUV will use a Lincoln-style fascia seen on the brand’s current cars, along with “softer sheetmetal edges,” akin to something like a shrunken Navigator.
It’s unclear whether that means the car will keep the Bronco’s powertrains or signature removable roof and door pieces; Ford Authority speculates the Lincoln may be more closely related to the Ford Everest, a foreign-market SUV that uses a body-on-frame structure similar to the Bronco’s, albeit without all the removable body panels.
Will This SUV Actually Work?
Luxurious off-roaders are all the rage right now. Just look at sales of vehicles like the Land Rover Defender and the aforementioned Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. It only makes sense that Lincoln gets in on the action by building something to compete in the segment, and it’s a good way to shift public perception that Lincolns are only purchased by old people. Plus, the Bronco platform, with all of its off-road prowess, is right there for the taking.
For such a vehicle to succeed, it’s important to look back on why the Blackwood failed. There wasn’t just one obvious reason, but a bunch of small things that came together to make that truck unappealing to the typical pickup truck buyer. For one, it was pretty impractical as a pickup truck in every way but one. Sure, it had more power than an F-150 and could tow 8,700 pounds, but it had fewer seats and fewer driven wheels, limiting its use case for people who also needed to use their trucks as daily drivers.
Then there was the bed. It wasn’t really a traditional bed, in that it was more like a fully sealed trunk, complete with carpeting and aluminum trim. Pickup truck beds are normally used for utilitarian work, like moving dirt, tools, supplies, and other hardware, so having a bed covered in soft carpet limited who would be able to use the Blackwood how they wanted.
Price was also a big deterrent; the Blackwood’s $54,495 MSRP made it double the price of a SuperCrew XLT F-150 of the era, and around $5,000 more than the equally luxurious, better-equipped Cadillac Escalade EXT. To pay all that money for a more compromised vehicle, no matter how nice those rear captain’s chairs were, wasn’t something that many buyers could justify.
Ford learned its lesson, obviously. Several years later, in 2009, the company took a different approach, offering up luxury-trimmed versions of the F-150 instead of leaving that job to Lincoln, in the form of the F-150 Platinum. That trim has remained a cornerstone of the F-150 lineup, and though it makes up a small percentage of sales, it produces high margins for the brand.
My point here is, the Bronco-based Lincoln can’t just be a less useful Bronco with a different face and soft leather inside. There needs to be more to set it apart, something big that the Ford version doesn’t have. Maybe that’s a fully revamped, luxurious interior, or a hybrid powertrain. Or, even better, a factory V8 engine option. It can’t just be a V6-powered four-door Bronco with a Lincoln badge and different body panels. That’s just not good enough.
This is especially true once you realize that Autoweek estimates such a vehicle could be priced above the current Navigator, which starts at $94,890. Buyers aren’t stupid; if they know the Lincoln is based on a lesser Ford that’s way cheaper, they’ll just go buy the Ford (or a better-equipped competitor) instead. There needs to be a differentiating factor.
A part of me hopes this Bronco-based Lincoln is real and suffers the same fate as the Blackwood. This way, the car world will get another weird, one-year-only utilitarian Lincoln I can recommend to people who want the weirdest SUV at their local off-road park. If it does flop, perhaps Ford will start making Bronco Platinums with huge 20-inch alloy wheels and massaging seats. Sounds weird, but it worked for the F-150. So why not the Bronco?
Top graphic image: Ford
Didn’t someone suggest this a year or two ago or was it rumored then too? I feel like I already heard this story years ago and I’m getting heavy deja vu.
It would give Lincoln variation and the ability to play in the overland cosplay scene. It seems like an obvious decision to me. Soften it. Leather it up and send it out the door. To me this is no different than the Suburban vs. Escalade. The beauty is that luxury depreciation curve will probably open the doors to a more livable Bronco alternative for a minimal price premium.
The BLACKWOOD was one of the most interesting projects I worked on in my FORD career. It was dreamed up by J Mays and Jac Nasser. I was the interior designer. Initially J wanted real wood at the rear. The planners joked to repair it after a crash you’d take it to a carpenter instead of a body shop. I hope FORD survives, its had a fun history, in a Soupy Sales kind way…
There is one Blackwood kicking around my neighborhood. I never knew how rare it was. If I see the guy I’ll have to ask about how he got it.
I think there’s probably a market for a more luxurious Bronco. But if they’re going after the G-Wagen or Range Rover, there’s a ton of work. Broncos feel ridiculously cheap.
The rumors of it being Everest-based are more encouraging. The Everest is already somewhat premium-looking, just swap the agricultural diesel for the 3.0 EcoBoost and I think it would work.
Living in Australia, I see Everests everywhere. I’ve always thought it would do really well in the US. I know Ford is scared of cannibalizing Bronco and Explorer sales, but I don’t think more options is a bad thing. Toyota has a million overlapping SUV options and they seem to be doing fine.
The Detroit Paradox: They need to increase sales, so they need to spend some money and bring more & better products to customers. But they also need to cut costs, so they have to minimize their lineup and close facilities.
I see Everests in third and fourth tier cities here in China. Not exactly G-Wagons. Th architecture is horrible (too high too narrow). Usually driven by farmers who don’t want a Chinese car, but still want an SUV.
I would bet a luxury Humvee of the military design creating a luxury experience would win out. Hell Schwarzenegger, Tim Allen and any other action star would buy a dozen each and far better performance. Forget the Chevy pickup wannabe hummers.
Yeah. Not too bright. The G Wagon is an anomaly. They’re already batting pretty bad. The Blsckwood fiasco. The Bronco reliability issues and kickoffs overall reliability issues. ????
use this for inspiration, Ford and you’ll sell at least one.
https://cdn.jlwranglerforums.com/attachments/16/16085-25d84e04ddd0f7993f0d5d37b4777f08.webp
Lincoln floats in/out of cohesion and relevance.
I don’t think G-Wagen is a good target for luxury except to be seen as conspicuous consumption
I went to the annual Charlotte Auto show this past year and the Lincoln booth showcased a very disjointed 2026 range of vehicles with extraordinarily odd interior trim choices. The Navigator was especially gaudy and tacky inside. They all felt like a Asian massage parlor inside – not a particularly timeless look.
So while I think that this is a weird concept to attempt, with Lincoln’s recent offerings, it’s actually right in-line.
Unfortunately, a Lincoln-ified Bronco will have to be dramatically different from it’s Ford brother in order to have even a modicum of success. I agree that this could be a G-Wagen fighter, but it needs perfect execution to pull off.
Ford doesn’t do perfect execution. Ever.
Yu had me at Asian massage parlour. I typo-ed “YU” and was going to correct it, but what the hell. It suits my response.
I went to that show too. Very disappointing.
Oh FFS… Lincoln needs a version of the Mach E (so they can finally have a BEV), not the goddamn Bronco.
Hell… a luxury version of the Mustang coupe/convertible for Lincoln (Lincoln Mark IX) would make more sense.
A luxury version of the Mach-e with rear-hinged rear doors, of course (ContinEntal?) and a 2-seat Mercedes SL-ish version of the Stang (Capri? It was a Lincoln model before being used for the wee EuroStang).
But let’s be real, the Bronco outsells the Mach-e and Mustang combined. Probably by at least 2:1. Maybe let them do the Broncwood to pay for the other two.
“Maybe let them do the Broncwood to pay for the other two”
Given how square a Bronco based vehicle would be, they could call it the Lincoln BlockWood.
Because after they give it some fake wood grain on the side, it’ll be like a block of wood.
Wood grain the whole thing!
I’m thinking Continentale. It sounds fahncy dahling.
No no, that’ll be the Cont-E-nental
I mean I was really hoping you’d get the Bronco with a new Vinyl roof and some Opera Windows
I actually don’t hate that idea. It’s been too long since we’ve had something so silly for sale on the US market that I think they might actually sell in decent numbers, just for the lols.
Bring back the Mark series as the Lincoln Mark IX using the Mustang chassis!
…Lincoln still exists?
It’ll be nice if it can tow. I feel like they want that GX attention, but I don’t think they’ll come close. I’m not even sure the bronco could tow a boat…
If Ford were doing this, and were smart, they would definitely NOT reuse the bronco body as is, but create a new wagon shell to sit on top of the existing platform. If they really want to make it a lasting competitor to the G, they will need to have something that differentiates if from the Bronco in a meaningful way.
My thoughts?
Hard roof only wagon, no removable roof option at all. Widen the body slightly so it doesn’t require as huge of fender flares…which will look really dumb on a wagon body. V6 only. Full time 4wd only. Don’t go all sasquatch with the looks – it has to be a form over function machine with function baked in under all the crap. i.e. smaller wheels and tires, but keep the locking diffs.
The Trouble Ford has on their hands is that the Bronco chassis is not well suited to this role, its just too wide to give that G-wagon look. Hell, its too wide for the current bronco shell in my opinion.
The chassis is certainly worth re-using, but I don’t know if Ford will be able to pull it off without a lot of work.
I like this approach, and it was similar to my first thoughts as well. Go after the G where it lives. Removable doors and roof aren’t necessary in that price bracket (a giant sunroof would do just fine!). Bigger wheels, more luxury, and let the off road ability do what it can with the new hardware; it will keep up with the Gs just fine if anyone needs it to.
Maybe a blown Coyote instead of a v6?
It would be cool to do an optional massive glass pano or canvas sunroof to give the feel of a removable top without all of the sacrifices.
That said, I think you’re definitely onto something.
Timeline maybe fits with next-gen Everest – which used same T6.1 chassis. If Ford go blocky with that to complete with Land Cruiser/Prado, a Lincoln G-wagen would be simples.
good point.
“The Blackwood is certainly the [ugliest, most useless] vehicle in Lincoln’s recent history”
Sorry Hoovie.
Don’t forget the Lincoln Mark LT, the second attempt at a Blackwood that you could actually use.
I’m in on this idea. The Lexus GX sprung to mind as a competitor, in addition to those you listed. My guess is it won’t have a removable top/doors, may be a bit taller roofline compared to the Bronco. This could be the first application of the rumored Hybrid Bronco as well.