It is one of the four concepts Lincoln and ArtCenter College of Design created.
A curious concept car, sporting a prominent Lincoln badge, is seen cruising The Quail’s stately grounds. It’s called The Anniversary and is , not an SUV . It’s more of a long, sleek passenger vehicle that imagines what a new Lincoln vehicle will look like in 20 years. It’s not something Lincoln invented.
Lincoln is involved however. Lincoln and the ArtCenter College of Design in Southern California created the Anniversary through a design challenge. Lincoln is close to the school and the four transportation design students were challenged with the challenge of creating Lincoln vehicles in the future. This was 2040 and beyond. In order to tell a larger story, the challenge was also merged with animators, film students, illustrators and entertainment designers to create a world where they can operate.
Jordan Meadows, global strategy specialist for Lincoln, assistant professor at ArtCenter, stated that “ArtCenter is well-known for its great vehicle design.” We were searching for great narrative development, rich storytelling, and more than just vehicles. It is crucial to understand the future ecosystem where a concept vehicle will be placed.
The Anniversary team went beyond renderings and sketches to create a mock-up that is life-sized. It’s very elegant. The Anniversary concept describes a vehicle that can connect passengers with the past and present through digital technology. The car is depicted as a vehicle that a future couple will use to celebrate their 30th anniversary. The car shows photos from their lives together as they travel to special places. This low-tech Lincoln is likely to have full self-driving tech.
Lincoln is not involved in the design of the Anniversary. We wouldn’t be surprised to find the emerging automotive designers behind this creation working with other brands. Maybe someday, parts of the Anniversary design will make it into production vehicles. That would be fine with us.