Lincoln Blackwood: Lincoln’s black-wood pickup that failed

The Lincoln Blackwood was a luxury full-size pickup marketed by Lincoln for the 2002 model year. Derived from the Ford F-150 SuperCrew and the Lincoln Navigator, it was the first pickup sold under the Lincoln name and was offered only with a black exterior.

Lincoln Blackwood at a glance

Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Blackwood.

History of the Lincoln Blackwood

The Blackwood grew out of the success of the 1998 Lincoln Navigator, which had become the brand’s second best-selling model and helped Lincoln overtake Cadillac in sales. A concept vehicle was shown at the 1999 North American International Auto Show and at the Los Angeles show, and it was received almost universally well, which led Ford to approve production soon afterwards. Ford called it the “ultimate utility vehicle”: a truck with the comfort of a Town Car, its cargo bed enclosed and finished in black African wenge wood with aluminium inlays, a nod to the wood-bodied station wagons of the past.

The production car changed little from the concept. The 19-inch wheels shrank to 18 inches to lower the ride height, and the expensive solid wood of the bed gave way to screened laminate composite panels, though the aluminium strakes stayed. Supplies of the bed, built by Magna Steyr, delayed the launch, and at the end of 2001 Ford froze its contracts with Magna International; only 451 cars were finished in the whole of the 2001 calendar year. Production had begun on 25 September 2000 and ended on 8 August 2002, the best month being May 2002 with 718 cars.

The Blackwood used the chassis of the tenth-generation F-Series with a 3,520 mm wheelbase, independent front suspension from the F-150 and a solid rear axle on air springs closer to the Town Car’s. Unlike the Navigator, every Blackwood was rear-wheel drive. The 5.4-litre DOHC InTech V8 from the Navigator produced 300 hp and drove through a four-speed automatic. The cab came from the F-150 SuperCrew and the front bodywork from the Navigator, while the 1.42 m bed became a watertight, carpeted and aluminium-lined trunk under a power-operated tonneau cover, opened by a 50/50 hinged door instead of a tailgate.

Sales fell far below projections in the United States and Mexico. After the 2002 model year the Blackwood was withdrawn from the United States, with a short run of 2003 cars for Mexico, and a total of only 3,383 vehicles was built – the rarest and shortest-lived Lincoln model line. Lincoln returned to the segment in 2006 with the Mark LT, again based on the F-150, which dropped most of the Blackwood’s unique features in favour of ordinary pickup usefulness and sold much better. The Blackwood was also the first Lincoln built entirely outside Michigan since 1958.

Design and features

• Wood-trimmed bed: imitation black wenge wood with aluminium strakes over a composite cargo box.
• Trunk instead of a bed: a watertight, carpeted 26 cu ft cargo area with a powered tonneau cover and a hinged door.
• Navigator V8: the 300 hp 5.4-litre DOHC InTech engine and four-speed automatic.
• Black only: every car left the factory with a black exterior.

Lincoln Blackwood versions

• 1999 concept: shown in Detroit and Los Angeles with real wood and 19-inch wheels.
• 2002 production model: composite bed panels, 18-inch wheels, rear-wheel drive only.
• 2003 Mexico cars: a short final run after the American withdrawal.

The Blackwood shared its engine and interior with the Lincoln Navigator and its cab with the Ford F-150; its successor was the Lincoln Mark LT. More Lincolns are in the Lincoln collection.

Sources

• Lincoln Blackwood, English Wikipedia: history, chassis, engine, production figures