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The Lincoln Star Concept Offers Glimpse of Brand’s Electrified Design Plans

04.26.22 | By
The Lincoln Star Concept Offers Glimpse of Brand’s Electrified Design Plans

Pardon the pun, but the trend toward the electrification within the automotive sector has delivered a much needed jolt to the design of cars and trucks. Unencumbered and freed of the traditional engine, electric vehicle designs emphasize a newfound airiness, a perception automakers are utilizing to create atmospheric environments with comfort and technologies at the forefront of both the driver and passenger experience. A glowing example of this move away from the paradigms of petrol-fueled vehicles is Lincoln’s latest Star Concept, a fully electric SUV previewing the brand’s design language and upcoming technologies slated for future electric vehicles.

With its raked roofline and the sinewed waist, the Lincoln Star Concept’s sleek aerodynamic exterior seems almost marine mammalian in a form, one shaped to maximize the reduction of drag – an impression accentuated by the latticed pattern adorning the front grill hood.

The 3D-printed metal latticework on the A-pillar along the windshield and the D-pillar at the back window of the Lincoln Star Concept isn’t merely intended to be admired from the outside; the detailing is also visible from the inside out thanks to the incorporation of transparent pillars with a full skylight with digital shade.

“Electrification is removing many traditional vehicle design constraints, allowing us to reimagine what a vehicle can be,” said Anthony Lo, chief design officer, Ford Motor Company. “The Lincoln Star is a study of experiences and themes that push the boundaries of Lincoln design – and it’s just the start.”

Concept renders show the Lincoln Star opening up to an impressive array of accessibility and storage options, including a slide out shelf frunk (front trunk).


The interior’s most conspicuous feature is its Cinerama-like “coast-to-coast” curved horizontal display. The screen spans from driver to passenger digital as one continuous panorama display, flowing from an integrated center control screen all the way into a second-row screen. Additionally the Lincoln Star Concept’s interior is imagined as a full sensory experience, orchestrating programs of audio, scent, and lighting throughout the cabin:

  • Coastal Morning uses gentle, oceanic sounds, a fragrance of sea mist and the soft, warm glow of the sun with dynamic lighting throughout to replicate a stroll on the beach at sunrise.
  • Mindful Vitality is meant to reenergize the senses, with invigorating, upbeat audio, dynamic abstract artwork, soft, glowing lighting and a flowery fragrance throughout.
  • Evening Chill mirrors dusk using a calming night soundtrack coordinated with night sky video and an evergreen fragrance.

The interior also features Lincoln Attaché, a digital briefcase concept with a hidden compartment in the rear coach door that not only provides safe storage of tablets and laptops, but does double duty as a charge pad for devices and can seamlessly detect incoming wireless content for clients. There’s also a lounge mode that transforms seating orientation.

While the Lincoln Star Concept isn’t destined for production, expect to see many of these features and details make their way into Lincoln’s stable of electric vehicles as the luxury brand ventures into an electric future in the next few years.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.