Rumors Say Lincoln Planning A Luxury Version Of The Ford Bronco

Lincoln is reportedly developing a body-on-frame SUV with the goal of chiseling sales away from the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, Land Rover Defender, and the Range Rover, with a launch targeted around the 2029 or 2030 model year.

Sources familiar with the program told Autoweek the proposed two-row model will ride on the same underlying architecture as the Ford Bronco and be built at the automaker's Michigan Assembly Plant.

The current Bronco rides on a 116.1-inch wheelbase and measures 189.5 inches in overall length. That gives it a similar footprint to the Lincoln Nautilus, which measures 193.2 inches on a 114.2-inch wheelbase. A Lincoln version of the Bronco would likely retain the Ford's general proportions before being dipped in Lincoln's current styling—think smoother surfaces and cues borrowed from the Navigator and Aviator.

Expect a more formal grille treatment, a cabin focused on sound insulation and materials, and a ride tuned for comfort rather than trail-rated performance.

A next-generation Bronco is expected around the 2031 model year. Because body-on-frame platforms allow for more incremental updates than unibody designs, Lincoln’s SUV could share components with either the current Bronco or an updated version that bridges the gap to the next generation.

A BOF Lincoln derived from the Bronco would likely sit near the top of the brand’s lineup. The current Navigator starts at just under $95,000, while a 2026 Range Rover opens above $115,000, and a G-Class stretches out to over $150,000. The Defender is actually the most affordable of the trio, with the Defender 110 starting at just $63,000 for a 2.0L four-cylinder model.

Opting for Land Rover's supercharged V8 juices the Defender's price to almost $120,000, there's room for a Lincoln somewhere between those goalposts, especially using one of the Bronco's twin-turbo V6's, either the 300-horsepower 2.7 from the standard truck, or the Raptor's 418-horsepower 3.0L.

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the Land Rover Defender, and the Range Rover, while positioned differently in terms of refinement and on-road behavior, all trade heavily on their body-on-frame or body-on-frame-like roots and upright proportions. The G-Class has retained its BOF roots, while the Defender and Range Rover use different Land Rover unibody architectures.

AutoGuide's Take:

This isn't the first interesting rumor about Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant to filter through in recent weeks.

Independently, AutoGuide's sources indicated Ford is exploring the potential of growing the Bronco family with a pickup truck variant, similar in ethos to the relationship between the Wrangler and Gladiator. This could come at the expense of the Ford Ranger, which doesn't sell as well as anyone had really hoped and finds itself in a tough spot, squeezed on both sides by the F-150 and Maverick.

Additionally, our sources said there could be room for a version of Ford's Everest SUV at MAP, which also rides on a version of the Bronco and Ranger's T6 platform. The Everset is built at AutoAlliance Thailand, a joint facility owned by Ford and Mazda, where it's exported across SE Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East. It's unclear if this could be the same BOF SUV Autoweek's source is pointing to.

Keep in mind, none of this is confirmed as fact, but considering both rumors have found their way to the surface in the last two weeks would seem to indicate Ford is actively evaluating the product mix and outputs from its Michigan Truck Plant.

When there's smoke, there's usually a fire.

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