Surprise: The Lincoln Aviator Hybrid Kicks Out Nearly 500bhp And Over 600lb ft

With high-level performance cars receiving ever sillier power outputs, much of the ‘normal’ stuff sitting underneath has been bumped up to compensate. Don’t believe me? Check out the 2020 Lincoln Aviator.

Lincoln had already promised that the plug-in hybrid Aviator Grand Touring would develop “more than 450 horsepower and more than 600lb ft of torque,” but now that it’s been certified, the real figures are here, as reported by Car Buzz. It turns out the Aviator GT is good for 487bhp (494hp) and 630lb ft of twist. What the what?

Remember, this isn’t intended to be a performance SUV. It has no ‘R’ badge or similar affixed to its boot, and it’s not powered by some big, snarling V8 - rather, a twin-turbo V6 and an electric motor. Yet it’s just 10bhp off the power output of a Porsche 911 GT3 and has comfortably more torque than a Ferrari F8 Tributo. It seems as though Lincoln has accidentally made a sleeper.

There’s no word on how quickly it’ll accelerate just yet, but we do know that the base Aviator is also a little more potent than originally estimated. The power output remains the same at 395bhp (400hp), but torque has risen from 400 to 400lb ft. It develops these figures from the same six-cylinder engine as the Grand Touring.

Price-wise, it’s $52,195 for the entry-level car and $69,895 for the Grand Touring.