The Lincoln Motor Company was originally launched in 1917. Its founder, Henry M. Leland, was a machinist, engineer, and creator of Cadillac. Leland ended up selling Cadillac to General Motors and serving as an executive before calling it quits in 1917. His new company, Lincoln, was named after Abraham Lincoln, his hero and the first President that he ever voted for. Yes, if you’re counting, that means that Lincoln is actually 105 years old. However, it appears that the Ford Motor Company is only counting from when it acquired the brand in 1922. And over those 100 years the brand has put out some incredible vehicles. The Model L100 is built to celebrate one in particular: Lincoln’s first luxury car. As Lincoln notes, the Model L was released in 1920 to a price that was ten times that of a Ford Model T. But in getting a Lincoln you enjoyed a larger vehicle with a custom body. Lincoln says that the Model L100 pays homage to specifically the 1922 Model L. Now that I have you all mixed up from these dates, let’s check out the Model L100. Our very own Jason Torchinsky is visiting Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and was able to snap up some pictures for us. And it sure is an incredible concept. Starting on the exterior, the Model L100 is low, sleek, and features graceful curves. In true concept car fashion it has humongous wheels (nod to our Adrian Clarke) and all kinds of lights. Well, calling those wheels is not entirely accurate, because they’re really stationary wheel covers. Lincoln says that they use lights to “communicate motion, battery life and human presence.” So, Lincoln’s idea for this is that you’d walk up to it and the wheel covers could tell you battery levels. Getting inside the Model L100 Concept would be quite the event. Instead of a typical set of doors, the concept’s body opens up wide and tall. Seriously, everything aft of the front wheels just opens up in one massive hinge. Even the glass roof is a part of the grand opening of the Model L100, and it pops up. Of course, this is just a concept, but I do like the thought of making an entrance like this. Well, so long as the entrance has enough room for all of this to happen. Inside of the Model L100 Concept is a sort of living room or lounge. You’ll immediately notice the lack of a steering wheel and that’s because this concept is for an autonomous vehicle. However, some control is apparently given to the passengers. How that’s supposed to work is through what Lincoln calls the “chessboard” using a miniaturized model of the car that Lincoln calls a “chess piece.” In the concept, Lincoln says that the chess piece covers the duties that a steering wheel would in a typical car. Lincoln boasts an interior filled with animal-free materials, featuring a recycled suede fabric. The floor is a giant screen, and the front seats can be turned around to really turn the car into a lounge. As with other luxury concepts it uses a ton of lights, sound, and aroma to make what is described as a sanctuary. Lincoln is light on technical details, but says that it’s a concept for a vehicle that uses a sold-state battery and hub-mounted motors at each wheel. Of course, battery tech in real life isn’t quite there just yet. But for the concept, it’s said to open up the cabin even more for personal luxury. Overall, it’s a properly cool concept and it’s even capped off with a crystal greyhound. Unlike some other big luxury concepts of recent times (like the Cadillac Celestiq), this is purely a concept. However, Lincoln says that the concept signals its future vision. If Lincoln follows through on some of this stuff, especially that sleek design, I think its future looks pretty wonderful. Shows at least in theory that Ford realizes not everything needs to be an SUV. Or something that hinges on our nostalgia. Oooh! Is it official? Have David and Jason finally merged and become one super-powerful auto-journalist with the joint power over rust and sarcasm like some kind of smart-ass version of the X-Men’s Magneto? As far as I’m aware they are still two separate people. I’m not sure the universe can handle them combining together so we constantly have to try keeping them apart. I insist. Why go through all the trouble when I could just sit in my own living room? This is like “all the calories of an ice cream cone in one little pill”. ….which are probably just there to hide the industrial casters that this thing is sitting on. Enjoy your recycled Alcantara. Your front driver’s side wheel cover needs air. It is also pointless because there is nothing in this “concept” that Lincoln will ever consider building. “It will run on fusion power, the leather is made from lab-grown polar bears, and the seats vibrate for her pleasure”
