Lincoln Luxury Vehicles of 2040 Are Reimagined by Design Students in California

CASE stands for connected, autonomous, shared and electric – the basic philosophy behind Lincoln’s own vision for the future, summarized by the Quiet Flight concept. Based on this, transportation design students from one of the best U.S. colleges for vehicle design, got the task of imagining the Lincoln vehicles of 2040.

But the challenge came with a twist. They had to picture not just what the vehicle itself would look like, but the world around it also. And, in order to do so, 4 teams of design students had to partner up with fellow students of other disciplines, including film and animation. After all, ArtCenter is located in Hollywood.

Due to current global conditions, the Ford and Lincoln executives did not get to see the results of the project in-person, but they watched the stories comes alive through storyboards, during a virtual session.

The future 2-passenger Lincoln, inspired by the classic Zephyr and Continental, told the story of a son who was happy to invite his paralyzed father to drive an ingenious new car that was advanced enough to make driving possible for him. The 4-passenger Lincoln sedan of the future was pictured having the digital technology that would be able to access the past and bring it to the present moment, by displaying images on the dashboard.

The 2040 SUV took things even further, with touchscreen windows and a moonroof that would help a future astronaut feel close to the stars for the first time. Lastly, the 6-passenger futuristic Lincoln was imagined as an autonomous luxury cruiser that a band would be riding in and having fun before a show, without any worries.

Whether or not some of these concepts will have a real impact on vehicle design is yet to be known, but it gives us a clue as to what people expect from luxury cars of the future.