Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the Vision Iconic concept car, presenting a look to the future with strong ties to the heritage of the brand.
The result is a retro-gothic electric car, with a long, sleek, lines and a lounge-like interior. Perhaps the closest piece of the concept to reality is the illuminated grille.
Mercedes has introduced a new concept car, the Vision Iconic. It's designed to show us where Mercedes is heading with its cars, but while most will be attracted to the retro-gothic aesthetic, it's really the technology it encompasses that Mercedes wants to show off.
Concept cars are designed to wow and there's no shortage of eye-candy from the Vision Iconic. The long bonnet with a huge reinterpretation of the Mercedes-Benz grille is dripping in 30s deco style. The black finish makes this look like it's auditioning for a part in hit Netflix series Wednesday.
The grille finds inspiration in models such as the W 108, W 111 and the Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman. These models all hark from the 1960s and are known for that massive grille, which has a hint of modern Rolls-Royce about it. Mercedes says that the redesign of the grille started with the new electric GLC.
But in profile, the Vision Iconic is less like those big saloons and limousines and more like a sports coupe. That's where the impossibly long bonnet meets the cockpit. It's long and low, a far cry from the SUVs that dominate modern car sales.
This is where we hit our first hint of modern technology: the surface of the car is a solar coating. Mercedes confirms that it's researching solar modules that can be applied to the surface in the form of a wafer-thin paste.
Mercedes says that this solar coating could provide 11 square metres to capture energy from the sun, which could produce enough energy for 7,500 miles across the year.
At the same time, the interior is design for a different kind of journey and this is something we've seen a lot of from concept cars. Instead of being about the driving, it's designed to be more like a lounge to support the Level 4 autonomous driving.
Level 4 driving is where the car can basically do everything without the need for human intervention. This is eyes-off motoring, where you can sit about with your fellow passengers and play cards while the car whisks you off to that party you're going to.
The interior, however, is a far cry from the sort of design that we'd ever see in a current car. It has an opulent deco theme, noted for its "hyper-analogue and digital luxury". The analogue elements give a hook to the past, something that's likely to be evocative when so many cars are now a digital and buttonless experience.
I'm not sure how well the velvet interior would wear and the mother-of-pearl inlay id again more like something you'd find in a Rolls-Royce, but this a concept car closer to a piece of art.
Back to the tech and there is of course an AI assistant, but that's just the surface, as the AI systems go further, with Mercedes suggesting neuromorphic computing. That's when a computer is designed more like a human brain, moving away from the binary logic of current machines for a more efficient, powerful and adaptable solution.
Of course, we have to take this future-gazing with a pinch of salt, but Mercedes is saying that this would power the autonomous driving and other systems - and be 10 times more efficient than current systems, while reducing the processing needed for autonomous driving by 90%.
Moving back to the real world, the Vision Iconic isn't just about the car: Mercedes has designed a capsule collection of outfits for men and women, reflecting the design of the car while bringing the art deco theme to life - and just in time for Shanghai Fashion Week.
While much of what Mercedes has presented doesn't take us any closer to knowing what the company is going to do next, it does tie in nicely with one of my favourite Mercedes mods of recent years. The Mercedes Ponton restomod (with an AMG V8) carries the same sort of gothic vibes and even has that massive grille.
Could this be a vision of the next Mercedes S Class? We can only hope.
