Lincoln

It’s been more than 100 years since Henry Ford bought the Lincoln brand and, since then, its flagship vehicles have been owned by presidents, diplomats and celebrities alike. And while what was once a shining symbol of American luxury and design may have dimmed over later decades, Lincoln hopes the new electric Star Concept manifests the message that the automaker’s future is brighter than ever.

Building upon Lincoln’s design transformation over the past several years, defined by stately proportions, elegant lines and human-centric technology, the concept previews a sleek crossover built on the brand’s new electric architecture. Also showcasing the latest evolution of Lincoln’s design language, referred to as Quiet Flight 2.0, the Star features a strong stance, a dropping roofline, reductive surfaces and aerodynamic enhancements.

“The goal was to take away elements. We wanted to keep it clean and wide and purposeful,” says Kemal Curic, Lincoln’s head of design, while giving Robb Report a walk-around tour of the vehicle in Hollywood.

The all-electric Lincoln Star Concept. 

Lincoln

At first glance, the side-view silhouette may conjure images of other coupe-like SUVs, such as the Range Rover Velar, but the Star retains cues that are distinctly Lincoln. From the front, the traditional grille openings of gasoline-powered cars are replaced by a flush, upright fascia that clearly telegraphs the Star’s electric power-train configuration. A large, backlit Lincoln emblem is the centerpiece, with dozens of smaller stars of alternating sizes shining across the width of the face. When opened, the entire hood is held suspended and the front end moves forward like a tray to reveal ample storage space underneath. Electro-chromatic glass on the hood allows more light into the cabin when driving, but can also be darkened to hide anything stored inside. And in the rear, the tailgate folds out into a lounge seat.
A lattice-pattern theme is used in several areas throughout the car, from front and rear lighting signatures to 3-D-printed A- and D-pillars. “We wanted to create a sense of openness, to give you the feeling that you can easily see to the outside,” Curic says. Light plays a big role in the Star’s futuristic presence, from the animated welcome sequence to the subtle side markers gracefully following the curve of each wheel arch. The SUV’s slightly narrower rear track, sharp trailing edge and closed, aerodynamically optimized wheels, help it slip more easily through the air, reducing turbulence and theoretically increasing range.

When opened, the electro-chromatic-glass hood is held suspended and the front end moves forward like a tray to reveal storage space underneath. 

Lincoln

Lincoln didn’t release specifics about the motors, battery pack or range, but it’s easy to imagine the Star Concept could share the same power train with the Ford Mustang Mach E. We’d especially love to see the 480 hp setup from the Mach E GT, with its 600 ft lbs of torque, on a future Black Label edition.
The interior, which we only saw by way of virtual reality, has been envisioned to echo the airy, intricate lattice pattern from the exterior. Instead of the team creating the Star from the outside first and then addressing the cabin, designers started with the rear seats and an emphasis on the passenger experience. “We focus a lot on what we call this third space,” says Robert Gelardi, Lincoln’s chief interior designer. “The rear space can be used as an office, a lounge for socializing with friends or a place of refuge.”

Lincoln’s Star Concept features a strong stance, a dropping roofline, reductive surfaces and aerodynamic enhancements. 

Lincoln

A two-tone color scheme in cream and warm brown looks both modern and traditional. Lincoln has long focused on broad, horizontal lines, and the Star is no exception. A single coast-to-coast display screen sweeps across the wing-shaped instrument panel while floating atop simple and pared-down controls. Ambient lighting plays across the dash, side door panels and even the front floor, with its bold stripes of white illumination.

The design of the Star Concept began with the rear seats and a focus on the passenger experience. 

Lincoln

Designers also created three unique sensory experiences, which combine light, graphics displays and scent to help occupants relax or recharge. Although this isn’t a new idea—Mercedes-Benz introduced a similar feature a few years ago on its previous-generation S-Class sedan—it’s a testament to the way manufacturers are thinking differently to incorporate all of the senses, especially in an electrified future where the roar of an engine and the smell of gasoline will be no more.

A single display screen sweeps across the entire wing-shaped instrument panel, floating atop simple and pared-down controls. 

Lincoln

According to the company, the Star is only a concept and won’t see production, but Lincoln president Joy Falotico says the brand will introduce three new EVs by 2025, with a fourth coming a year later. Along with that, Lincoln is partnering with dealers to grow boutique retail venues in its top markets, including Scottsdale, Ariz., and Bethesda, Md. Falotico says that there are already 27 of these vitrine-like stores worldwide, and 35 more planned to open this year. This pipeline alone is expected to generate more than 80 percent of total sales volume.

Falotico also says that the brand is working toward a fully digital, end-to-end experience and continues to build out its client services, including a mobile-detailing pilot program in Houston, Tex. Meanwhile, this latest concept serves as a beacon for Lincoln’s next chapter. As Curic puts it: “We are going after a different star that’s guiding us into an electrified future.”

While seated in a 30-way adjustable massage chair, you feel the kneading and rhythmic pressure undulate throughout the length of your spine while melodic strains emanate from a 28-speaker audio system. Suddenly, gentle chimes from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra signal your attention. While this could describe a sybaritic respite at any destination spa worth its bath salt, it just as easily applies to a road trip in some of the latest in Lincoln’s model line.

Sure, all high-end automakers offer similar on-board amenities; they have to. Now more than ever, as all of us still navigate through the pandemic and the uncertainty of social interaction, the car remains a fortress of solitude second only to the home.

A costal escape in the Lincoln Corsair. 

Photo: Courtesy of Lincoln.

“For Lincoln, the theme and the place that we’re curating for the consumer is their sanctuary,” mentioned actor Matthew McConaughey, a spokesman for the brand, during a virtual preview of the 2021 Lincoln Nautilus, held last year via Zoom. According to McConaughey, the concept extends to “how it’s still a sanctuary outside the vehicle.”
Finding creative ways to fuel brand awareness away from the car has become de rigueur for an automotive market that struggles to differentiate itself with design. To combat this, some manufacturers are dabbling in the hospitality industry. Hyundai’s more high-brow sub-brand has just opened Genesis House in New York City, and McLaren’s multipurpose atelier in Paris—opened in 2020—doubles as a lounge and art gallery.

The 2021 Lincoln Nautilus Black Label midsize SUV. 

Photo: Courtesy of Lincoln.

Lincoln, however, is not trying to reinvent the wheel but has opted instead to collaborate with a host of exclusive hotels and wellness partners throughout the US, developing specialty travel experiences for its customer base. It’s a road Lexus has also embarked on. For Lincoln, these travel pairings are an attempt to take its Quiet Flight ethos when it comes to drive dynamics, and expand it beyond the cabin.
Hospitality providers that have signed on include Miami’s Delano South Beach, the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah; and the Mondrian LA, SLS Beverly Hills and the Rosewood in Southern California . . .  just to name a few. Many of the affiliated locations have Lincoln models available for use, often as the “official house car,” and give owners reduced rates through the brand’s Access Rewards loyalty system. These offerings can also be found and booked through the Lincoln Way app.

An aerial view of the Rosewood Miramar Beach in Santa Barbara, Calif. 

Photo: Courtesy Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito

“It’s a way to have people think about Lincoln differently, more about where it’s going,” says Eric Peterson, the automaker’s communications manager, adding that it “also affords an opportunity for us to be a platform to have a moment, whether it’s at the Dream Hotel in Nashville, or something at Rosewood. If we’re already there and have a footprint, then it’s a natural extension.” When it comes to selecting partners, Peterson notes: “We don’t want to be everywhere, just the places where our clients are today, or future ones might be. We want to be in the right areas where we can dial it up and also bring a little bit of Lincoln to people who haven’t been exposed to it before.”

The 2022 Lincoln Aviator (front) and Navigator at the Rosewood Miramar Beach. 

Photo by Lisa Linke, courtesy of Lincoln.

For that latter category, I think of my 90-year-old father who, in 1959, emigrated to the US from the southern tip of India, a region where “car culture” was as foreign a concept as Bollywood in Texas at the time. Yet once Stateside, it didn’t take him long to equate affluence with the Lincoln Continental, an automobile that I doubt he had a chance to even sit in. His son, however, is now piloting a Lincoln Corsair up the SoCal coast to the Rosewood Miramar Beach in Santa Barbara, my hometown, to sample the recently opened, 16-acre beachfront resort’s Lincoln Rejuvenation Package. For my dad, it would be a sign, no matter how erroneous, that I’ve finally made it.

The interior of the 2022 Lincoln Navigator. 

Photo by Lisa Linke, courtesy of Lincoln.

The Michigan-based marque has teamed with the property to offer the Lincoln community a customized two-night stay with a pair of 60-minute spa treatments and allotted food and beverage credit. At the entrance sits the new Aviator and Navigator on display, while other examples are on hand to chauffeur guests to Coast Village Road in tony Montecito for shopping and exploration. It’s a whirlwind weekend of leisure, where the only deadline is leaving the cabana-fringed pool in time for a deep-tissue massage, and the biggest decision is between dinner reservations at the Revere Room in the main Manor House or Caruso’s on the beach. And awaiting in the guest suite are heath and skincare indulgences from Gwyneth Paltrow’s product line Goop, also a partner.

The Rosewood’s Cabana Pool. 

Photo: Courtesy of the Rosewood Miramar Beach.

While such curated pampering, whether from Lincoln or any of its competition, grants current owners further vindication in their choice of transportation, it’s unreasonable to expect those unfamiliar with the badge to buy in, at least not immediately. But that’s not the intent. Pulling away from the Rosewood, I’ll now associate Lincoln and its model line with that baronial retreat, an indelible perception. Sure, what Peterson refers to as the “power of sanctuary” is a marketing tagline, but touché.

Learn more about Robb Report’s 2022 Car of the Year event taking place in Boca Raton here.

Imagine a sleek coupe that whisks you away to a favorite place, projecting memories of past visits on expansive displays and playing music that evokes remembrances of the destination and people that matter most. That’s the concept behind Lincoln’s Anniversary concept, a project conceived by a team of students at Pasadena’s famed Art Center College of Design. But this one has a twist: Lincoln has turned the virtual proposal into a real-life show car, one that was debuted to the public at the Quail, a Motorsports Gathering, during Monterey Car Week.

It’s not uncommon for automakers to sponsor student competitions at well-known design schools, but full-sized models rarely get made. Project judges, including Ford president Jim Farley and Lincoln head of design Kemal Curic, said they were so impressed by the Anniversary car’s design and the emotional story behind it—a married couple celebrating their anniversary with the help of the futuristic sports car—that they wanted to bring it to life. “Watching them on screen, quite frankly, gave me goosebumps,” Curic says.

The Lincoln Anniversary concept car. 

Photo: Courtesy of Lincoln.

The Anniversary concept is one of four winning entries chosen by the Lincoln team earlier this summer. For the first time, Lincoln expanded the project to go beyond car design and included students and instructors from illustration, animation and film. “We wanted to open up the course and solicit visual storytellers to see what these future vehicles would look like,” says Jordan Meadows, global strategic design specialist for Lincoln and an assistant professor at Art Center. “The car is important, but just as important is the world that this car lives in,” notes Meadows, adding, “that really made a lot of sense because not only is Art Center a fantastic school for vehicle design, but it’s in the home of the entertainment industry near Los Angeles, and we have these storytellers, so we wanted to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Project judges included Ford president Jim Farley and Lincoln head of design Kemal Curic. 

Photo: Courtesy of Lincoln.

Teams were challenged to create a virtual presentation for what the marque would like in the year 2040, and were given two main sets of criteria: Communicating the Lincoln brand pillars of “quiet flight” and “beautiful-gliding-human-sanctuary,” as well as meeting the requirements of connected, autonomous, shared and electric (CASE) elements.

Student teams were challenged to create a virtual presentation that communicated the Lincoln brand pillars of “quiet flight” and “beautiful-gliding-human-sanctuary.” 

Photo: Courtesy of Lincoln.

Other winning entries include the Lincoln Glider sedan, which imagines solutions for a disabled person to get behind the wheel for the first time in years; a future family SUV with features such as touchscreen windows and a large moonroof fit for an astronaut; and a six-passenger luxury cruiser that imagines next-level autonomous driving while carrying a group of musicians in an interior that more closely resembles a well-appointed living room.

Another missive for the assignment was that the vehicle be connected, autonomous, shared and electric (CASE). 

Photo: Courtesy of Lincoln.

Projects like the Lincoln Anniversary aren’t just for show—they encourage and give a platform to young designers while providing a valuable pipeline to car companies searching for new talent. “We saw this as an opportunity to give back,” Meadows explains. “Yes, for brand exposure, but also for students to develop a relationship with a manufacturer and to develop their careers. And if there’s someone really talented and passionate, we want them to work for Ford.”

Learn more about Robb Report’s 2022 Car of the Year at the event taking place in Napa Valley here and in Boca Raton here.

Detroit is back, again. The Lincoln Motor Company has paired up with Shinola to present a one-off concept car headed for the lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Aug. 15.  The exclusive Aviator SUV is fitted with colors and materials inspired by the watches, bags and bicycles made by Shinola in downtown Motown.

“The craftsmanship really spoke to us as a design team,” says Kemal Curic, head of Lincoln design. “The attention to detail and things that are hand finished, those are the things really shared between the two brands.”

The Aviator concept SUV developed by Lincoln and Shinola. 

Photo: Courtesy of the Lincoln Motor Company.

Initially known for its quartz watches, Shinola has expanded into a lifestyle brand that now includes leather bags and accessories, high-end power strips, bicycles and even a hotel, with its products assembled in a factory in the heart of the city. And although Lincoln’s main design studio is 15 minutes southwest of Dearborn, Mich., parent company Ford is in the midst of building a sprawling, 30-acre campus in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, including an ambitious renovation of the long-abandoned Michigan train station. In their own ways, each company has grown to become modern symbols of American industrialism and down-to-earth luxury.

The unique Aviator boasts a two-tone interior with leather, inserts and piping supplied by Shinola. 

Photo: Courtesy of the Lincoln Motor Company.

On the Aviator concept, a pearl-white exterior evokes the mother-of-pearl dial on Shinola timepieces. Chrome trim has been replaced in most areas with a soft shade of copper, which Ruthie Underwood, Shinola’s vice president of Creative Design, tells us was inspired by the clean and utilitarian aesthetics of their rivets and bike seats. It can be seen on the wheels, rocker panel, roof racks, front grille and bezels around the headlamps.

The vehicle’s pearl-white exterior evokes the mother-of-pearl dial on Shinola timepieces. 

Photo: Courtesy of the Lincoln Motor Company.

The unique Aviator boasts a striking two-tone interior featuring cognac-colored, chrome-tanned leather with cream-colored inserts and blue suede piping—all supplied by Shinola. Running down the center of each seat is a ribbon inspired by the stripe pattern that can be found on Shinola’s hotel awnings, as well as watch and bag straps. A brilliant, multi-faceted mesh metal trim runs across the width of the instrument panel and surrounds the controls on the center console. It’s complemented by copper trim on the dashboard, center console and speaker grilles. Combining metallic textures and colors can be tough to pull off, but Lincoln designers managed to elevate an already elegant cabin without making it look overdone. “We didn’t want to create something gaudy, but do it tastefully,” Curic says.

A multi-faceted mesh metal trim runs across the instrument panel and around many of the controls. 

Photo: Courtesy of the Lincoln Motor Company.

Curic and team will be watching closely when it debuts at Pebble Beach. Although there are currently no plans to produce the Shinola version of the Lincoln Aviator, Curic tells us: “This is a way to test the waters and see the reactions and go from there. We are certainly open to future collaborations and demonstrating that things can be done in a non-traditional, non-automotive way.”

Learn more about Robb Report’s 2022 Car of the Year at the event taking place in Napa Valley here and in Boca Raton here.

For 2021, Lincoln’s Nautilus SUV is updated with an upgraded cabin that brings it into line with the rest of the family. Gone is the narrow, outdated cockpit of the outgoing model, replaced by a sweeping instrument panel endowed with a wide-aspect touchscreen, stretched air vents and wood appliqué that runs all the way across the dash. A lower control panel allows easy access to climate control functions and allows passengers a redundant way to access settings on the large screen.

We’ve been fans of Lincoln’s designs since the Navigator concept first swung open its gullwing door five years ago at the New York Auto Show. Since then, Lincoln has hit it out of the park with the production version of that flagship SUV, and later the handsome Aviator.

The 2021 Lincoln Nautilus Black Label midsize SUV. 

Photo by jeff@jeffludes.com, courtesy of Lincoln.

Now the midsized Nautilus, which competes with the likes of the Audi Q5, Cadillac XT5 and Lexus RX, gets a similar interior treatment with broad, horizontal lines, which designers say mimic the horizon and give occupants a sense of calm.
“You can see how we’ve brought it in line with the Aviator and Navigator,” says Robert Gelardi, Lincoln’s chief interior designer. “Everything from the position of the instrument panel, where we have the largest display in our lineup, to bringing in the Lincoln signature piano-key shifter. It was all about getting that cockpit to make you feel like you’re in this mental-sanctuary space.”

The interior presents broad, horizontal lines, which designers say mimic the horizon and give occupants a sense of calm. 

Photo: Courtesy of Lincoln.

As before, the standard Nautilus is powered by a 250 hp, 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four engine, but the one to get is the top-of-the-line Black Label (starting at $65,090), powered by a 335 hp, 2.7-liter twin-turbocharged V-6. In addition to the power bump, the Black Label version of the Nautilus gets a few extra styling details inside and out, with interior themes such as “Chalet,” which clothes the cabin in cream-colored leather with perforations in the shape of the brand’s star emblem.
Black Label customers also get Lincoln’s suite of upgraded perks, such as personalized concierge services, at-home pickup and delivery and a premium four-year maintenance plan. We also drove the Nautilus prior to the interior redesign and found the 2021 Nautilus Black Label nearly silent in comparison, with no noise from the tires and only slight wind from the A pillar at high speeds.

The model’s Black Label edition includes an upgrade from a 250 hp inline-four engine to a 350 hp twin-turbocharged V-6. 

Photo: Courtesy of Lincoln.

The design of the interior now flows seamlessly with the exterior design, which was updated for the 2019 model year. The result is a midsize crossover that’s equally at home in front of Nobu in Malibu or at the In-n-Out Burger drive-through. With the row of shifter buttons tucked discreetly beneath the center stack, the center console is free to hold our milkshakes and phones as we drive up Pacific Coast Highway, and makes for a handy shelf when we park to enjoy our Double-Doubles. Despite the light-colored upholstery and elegant appointments, the Nautilus retains a sense of day-to-day livability not always found in luxury vehicles.

The seats feature cream-colored leather with perforations in the shape of the brand’s star emblem. 

Photo: Courtesy of Lincoln.

“What we tried to imbue in Nautilus is the authenticity and the right combination of those ingredients, so that when you get out of the car, you want to get back in,” Gelardi says. “Just like the perfect orchestra with the perfect combination of instruments.”