Development
The Lincoln MKX first appeared as a Concept car at the 2004 North American International Auto Show as a new and much different iteration of the Lincoln Aviator. In a significant departure from the larger, Explorer-based Aviator that was already in production at the time, the Aviator Concept was smaller and more car-like, being based on Ford's natively front-wheel drive CD3 platform (the concept featured an all-wheel drive system). The sole powertrain of the Aviator Concept was Ford's new 3.5 L Duratec DOHC V6 (still under development at the time) mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The concept's V6 was rated at 245 hp (183 kW) and 240 lb·ft (330 N·m). The Aviator Concept also differed from the production Aviator stylistically with an all-new grille design, inspired by those of classic Lincolns like the 1961 Continental, and an innovative glass roof. As a crossover, as opposed to an SUV, the Aviator Concept was designed to appeal to luxury buyers who might normally consider vehicles such as the Infiniti FX or Lexus RX.
Development of a production version of the Aviator Concept was authorized with a sales debut set for late 2006. Along with a number of revisions to the concept in the process of creating the production model, the Aviator received a new name: MKX. The new name followed a new nomenclature developed by Lincoln to mimic the alphanumeric naming schemes used by other luxury automakers like Lexus and Acura. The MKZ luxury sedan was the first Lincoln to follow this nomenclature, being closely followed by the MKX. Management at Lincoln originally announced the MKX with a "Mark-Eks" pronunciation during the 2006 auto show circuit, but eventually changed it to the phonetic "em-kay-eks" due to confusion observed among focus groups and dealership personnel. Due to the similarity of the MKX name, regardless of pronunciation, to the MDX name used by Acura for their competing luxury crossover, Honda, Acura's parent company, filed a lawsuit against Ford in January 2006, eventually settling the case out of court.
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