Unlike its direct historic rival Cadillac, Lincoln has forsaken the passenger car lifestyle – and don't count on the L100 concept to make it into production anytime soon – as far as the traditional US car market is concerned. As such, they can only count on the hype created by their luxury crossover SUVs and nothing else.
Caddy has the advantage of being in a hurry to dip its toes into more pots than Lincoln – they can (still) hook the high-performance enthusiasts to the CT4-V and CT5-V sporty sedans and even make them dark and menacing Blackwings. They also have an upcoming trio of EVs – the 'base' Lyriq crossover SUV, the flagship Celestiq 'sedan,' and the upcoming Escalade IQ full-size zero-emissions SUV.
Speaking of the Escalade nameplate, of course, its most ardent contender to the segment's title is the Lincoln Navigator. The 2023 model year starts at less than $80k with seating for eight and has been around (based on the Ford T3 platform shared with the Ford Expedition SUV and F-150 trucks) in the current iteration since its introduction at the 2017 New York Auto Show. Naturally, that means a fifth generation will not be too late to the party – and already the internet has caught wind of the prototypes clad in thick camouflage thanks to the watchful camera eye of spy photographers.
Logic dictates that once the rumor mill starts to spin, it's going to take a short time before the imaginative realm of digital car content creators kicks into high gear, as well. And remember how the good folks over at the "AutoYa" info channel on YouTube have a satellite venue dubbed AutoYa Interior, we are not surprised that is where all the (CGI) Lincoln Navigator action occurs – from inside-out, of course. We already know that the future holds in store a battery-powered, all-electric Lincoln Navigator for fans of the series – but that's not it.
Instead, the unofficial depiction of the fifth generation is more preoccupied with aligning the ICE-powered Navigator to the latest exterior styling deployed by models such as the second-generation Nautilus that will be imported from China from now on. However, the author has decided to instruct the resident pixel master to change the hypothetical cockpit layout from one inspired by the Nautilus' dual-screen (one traditional in the middle, one extra-wide set across the width of the cabin) into one taking after the Zephyr concept with a single, massive screen element.
Well, it remains to be seen how the all-new next-gen Lincoln Nautilus will pan out and how it will fare against the popular Caddy Escalade. But do remember to take all these renderings with a healthy dose of salt as nothing is official just yet, and the luxury division of Ford Motor Company could still come up with a few surprises along the way. In the meantime, do you like the ritzy color options for both inside and out enough to give this digital project our CGI hall pass – or not?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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