New Lincoln SUV Is Named Aviator

Ford Motor Co. has revealed that the previously announced mid-size sport-utility vehicle for its Lincoln luxury brand, due out next year, will be called the Aviator.

Ford Chief Executive Jacques Nasser delivered the news at a recent dinner in Pebble Beach, Calif., honoring famed performance-car builder Carroll Shelby, who developed the Shelby Cobra and the Shelby Mustang and won the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race for Ford in 1967.

With the present Lincoln full-size SUV called the Navigator and Ford’s penchant for same-sound naming (see: Ford Escape, Explorer, Expedition and Excursion), that leaves possibilities such as Gladiator or Exterminator for the next Lincoln truck.