Lincoln Star Concept Uses Scents and Sounds to Help You Relax
Meet the Lincoln Star. It sounds like the name of a certain drummer’s long-lost relative — and this might actually be appropriate, because the Star is somewhat of a drumroll moment for the Lincoln Motor Company. Sleek, handsome, and stylish (yes, we’re talking about the vehicle), the Star is an all-electric SUV concept intended to tease what’s to come for the luxury automaker.
It has all of the hallmarks of a proper concept, which is to say that it has an extremely futuristic design that will never see an American street, absolutely overwhelming infotainment technologies that we’ll be lucky to see before another five years, and a team of marketers ready to deploy their most ambiguous feel-good vocabulary. And of course, it’s electric.
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“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.”
Lo has a point there. Electrification traditionally offers big opportunities to use space once reserved for combustion powertrain components. EVs sharing a platform with non-EVs are often limited to using that extra space for something else. But vehicles built from the ground up on an EV platform can rearrange that space to make possible things that weren’t before. (I’m starting to sound like one of those marketers, aren’t I?)
By the end of 2026, Lincoln plans to have launched four new fully electric vehicles, all of which will be inspired by the Star Concept. To what extent remains unknown, but if any of these vehicles pack all of the concept’s most lavish features — including illuminated crystallines, a scent delivery system, and lounge-like reclining rear seats — then you can consider this editor impressed.
One thing I do expect will make the cut in at least one future Lincoln vehicle is the Star Concept’s electro-chromatic panoramic glass roof and the combination of multiple displays to create one massive, digital interface. These things are starting to crop up in high-end luxury rides and there’s no reason the brand that once used to ferry around American presidents can’t do the same.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.