The 2019 Lincoln Navigator is quick, but the Hennessey Lincoln Navigator is a speed demon. John Hennessey did the deed and gifted the massive SUV with 150 horsepower over the stock version, rounding up all the horses of the Lincoln Navigator engine to 600. That’s insane. Yet, before I tell you to press play on that video down below, I have to set my heart to rest.

It’s getting harder and harder to like massive SUVs. Seven-seaters are just too ungainly even for my SUV-loving mind. While the Navigator is quite amazing in terms of tech and luxury, just look at it. It is like an oversized van. Just like any other massive seven-seater SUV. Hennessy did an amazing job and released the Navigator from that family-centricity. I mean, when you think about 600 horsepower, you definitely aren’t thinking “I have to get the groceries and pick up kids from school.” But you do think, “I am almighty.”

Two Lincoln Navigators Have A Race, And It's Like Elephants In Heat

Two elephants fight. The darker one has bigger tusks. That’s really what the race between the Hennessey Lincoln Navigator and the stock 2019 Lincoln Navigator crumbles down to. I don’t know if I am too conservative for this kind of thing, but seven-seaters like these racing at the Pennzoil Proving Grounds feels wrong.

At least, that is the claim Hennessey Performance made some weeks prior to this fight when it said that the new Lincoln Navigator HPE600 will have such performance. And, considering that it simply walked over the stock Navigator like it wasn’t there at all, I guess Hennessey didn’t talk nonsense.

The video does show that the HPE600 Navigator pulls harder than the stock 450-horsepower Lincoln Navigator right from the get-go. In this case, at least four car lengths. To achieve such a profound improvement over the stock Navigator, Hennessey Performance considerably upgraded the 3.5-liter, EcoBoost engine. Bear in mind that this is basically the same engine as in the Ford Raptor. Yeah, awesome, I know.

Well, the sum of the changes can be listed like this:

-* Modified intake

-* Considerably reprogrammed engine management computer software

-* Introduced high-flow air induction system

-* Installed stainless steel exhaust system

-* Front-mounted intercooler with a blow-off valve

That is enough for 600 horsepower. But it is not enough for 800 horsepower. How can that be a problem, you may ask? Well, the closest competitor to the Lincoln Navigator - the Cadillac Escalade - moved the bar to 800 horsepower after receiving Hennessey treatment. So, the Caddy is quicker, faster, and more powerful.

Is it as handsome though?

Well, that’s like asking to choose the more beautiful between two sumo wrestlers. Hennessey did try to improve the 2019 Lincoln Navigator with stuff like forged monoblock wheels, and a lower suspension setup. It is a neat package, no question there, but it is just too big, too chubby. It’s massive.

Conclusion

While it is obvious that I do not like SUVs with such ideas of grandeur, Hennessey did pull a rabbit out of its hat and made the Navigator incredibly quick. Hennessey Performance limited the number of units it will mod to 200. If you happen to have a Navigator, but its 450 horsepower simply seems lackluster to take on a generation old Corvette, then please ask John Hennessey to rig you up with something like this. He will say hello to you too, and charge you $20,000 for the job.

With a warranty.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2018 Lincoln Navigator.

Read our full review on the 2019 Lincoln Navigator By Hennessey.