When patents are applied for in China, they soon appear in its Ministry of Industry and Information Technology publications. That is why these images of the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus showed up today. Lincoln is doing a new design to replace the previous Nautilus, which debuted in 2018. With it being a tweener, that is, between the Navigator and Corsair, it needs to stand out. That, or at least ape the visual cues of its siblings. Thus, the new 2024 Nautilus.

How did Lincoln improve the Nautilus?

Overall, the new design gets crisper and kills the emphasis applied to the previous version’s fenders. The design line below the beltline is crisp, running the length of the side. But the Ford fender vent thingie that has been prominent on many of its designs, including the F-Series trucks, just kind of floats on both the fender and door. It’s just this thing bonked onto the Nautilus. 

But look, Ford designers had to make the Nautilus distinct from its Ford Edge origins. So why not stick this thingie onto it? So kudos go to those designers. At least the thingie looks like it does something. What that is we don’t know, which adds a bit of mystery to it.

Does the Lincoln Nautilus look different from its Ford Edge origins?

In front, it gains a Corsair grille and emboldens the trend of slim LED headlights. They even appear to continue running through the grille, so this illuminated detail defines the front. At least, at night. 

It looks like shiny black as an accent color denotes top-of-the-line. The color black covers everything that bolts onto the Nautilus, like the grille, wheels, rockers, and that thingie on the sides. Especially, against the white paint of the subject Nautilus, it makes for a striking contrast.

In the rear, we’re at a loss to bring you much beyond what it is. What is it? Well, the somewhat generic expanse of taillight with the maker’s name placed into it so that when lit it announces who built it. That’s probably good because otherwise, you might confuse it as a Rivian or Audi Q8. Maybe when turned on the taillights do a Disney light show. 

When will the Lincoln Nautilus debut in the U.S.?

But this is calculated to be what buyers in this tweener segment crave. And we’re sure Ford has the clinics to prove it is what everyone wants. However, the “everyone” that Lincoln is aiming the new Nautilus at may not be in this country. 

Because this has been applied for in China, that is where this Nautilus is headed. But it may see changes before it launches in the U.S. As always, Ford is not saying one way or the other. Ford designs for certain regions, and China and the U.S. aren’t anywhere near each other. 

What else is curious is that Ford won’t be making its Edge moving forward. And the only business case these models make is production numbers. So the more variations produced, the better the chances of production. With the Edge gone in the U.S., this new Nautilus may never make it here.