Lincoln Motor Company just announced that it will unveil a brand-new SUV at the 2019 New York Auto Show in April. The new crossover will be called the Corsair, a name that Ford Motor Company used briefly in the late 1950s. The Lincoln Corsair replaced the MKC in the company's current lineup.

The Corsair completes Lincoln's departure from alphanumeric badges

In the mid-2000s, Lincoln switched to alphanumeric badges, naming all its models, save for the Navigator, with "MK" following by an additional letter specific to each model. Its crossover lineup went on to include the MKC, MKT, and MKX below the Navigator. A couple of years ago the company decided to ditch the alphanumeric badges and revert back to actual names, including a revival of nameplates used in the past.

In 2018, Lincoln replaced the MKX with the Nautilus as part of the SUV's mid-cycle update. In 2019, the old MKT was redesigned and renamed the Aviator. Now it's the MKC's turn to go into the history books and make way for the Corsair. Just like its predecessor, the Corsair will be based on the Ford Escape, which is due for a redesign in 2019. Once it arrives in showrooms, the Corsair will complete Lincoln's departure from alphanumeric badges. The SUV lineup will then include, from smallest to largest, the Corsair, Aviator, Nautilus, and Navigator.

The Lincoln Corsair revives a 60-year-old badge

The Corsair name may be new for the Lincoln brand, but Ford Motor Company used it on a few cars in the past. The nameplate dates back to 1958 when Ford's short-lived Edsel division launched a full-size car with this name. Offered in both two- and four-door body styles, it shared underpinnings with a range of Mercury models, including the iconic Turnpike Cruiser, Park Lane, Monterey, and Montclair.

The sedan was upgraded in 1959 when it became related to the Ford Galaxie and Fairlane, but it was discontinued in 1960, right before the Edsel brand was abandoned. The car that was supposed to be Edsel's offering for the 1961 model year was eventually sold as the Mercury Meteor. Edsel sold around 19,000 Corsairs in two years.

The name returned in 1963, but this time around on a Ford and in Europe, as the Consul Corsair. A midsize car offered in many body styles, the Consul Corsair was first available with an inline-four engine. Starting 1965, it was fitted with a V-4 unit and renamed the Corsair V4. It was replaced by the third-generation Cortina in 1970.

The Corsair name surfaced one last time in 1989 in Australia. Built for around four years as a replacement for the Telstar, the Australian Corsair was actually a mildly revised Nissan Pintara, itself a version of the more iconic Bluebird. Offered in both four-door sedan and five-door hatchback body styles, the Corsair was discontinued in 1992 due to poor sales and Nissan closing its Australian plant.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2019 Lincoln MKC.

Read our full review on the 2020 Lincoln Aviator.

Read our full review on the 2019 Lincoln Nautilus.

Read our full review on the 2018 Lincoln Navigator.