To create an automobile that is highly efficient through the air and looks good is more of a challenge than you might think. Especially if you’re looking to make an electric concept that can go more than 1,000 km (621 miles) per charge.

Such was the challenge facing the team behind the Mercedes EQXX prototype. The vehicle had to be both aerodynamic enough to reach Mercedes’ target range while also being attractive enough to make buyers want to drive it.

“You need the human touch to create something that inspires humans,” says Steffen Kohl, a member of Mercedes’ design team. “We wanted the perfect shape. Never mind whatever values we had to achieve. It should look fantastic.”

Read Also: Mercedes Vision EQXX EV Prototype Coming To CES 2022 Will Be The Most Efficient Benz Yet

The problem, though, is that what’s attractive is not always efficient. The aerodynamicists, like Teddy Woll, were more interested in the way the body cut through the air. “At normal cruising speed, aerodynamics accounts for about 60 percent of the total [range] losses,” says Woll. “And so at higher speeds, aerodynamics plays a key role.”

One of the ways in which Mercedes tried to “cheat” the wind was with high-tech aero elements such as active spoilers that can make a vehicle more efficient while maintaining a nice overall appearance. But those only count for so much. A full teardrop design would be ideal, said Woll, but wheels get in the way of that.

“Once you add wheels, full taper becomes impossible,” explains Woll. “In other words, [they’re] the biggest aerodynamic problem of all. If we didn’t have wheels, everything would be simpler.”

Why not make the rear track width slimmer than the front like MG did in the late ’50s? Because that’s where the design department put its foot down.

“I will give you the [narrow] rear, but we will not make the tracks lower and slimmer,” says Kohl. “That looks shit. And we don’t want to make it look shit.”

There were a lot of problems Mercedes admits but, after hundreds of sketches, the teams did manage to come together to create a shape that satisfied both. Mercedes is still, understandably, being cagey about what exactly the solution was, but the concept’s coupe-like shape seems to have been a part of it.

To find out exactly what the EQXX concept will look like, we’ll have to wait until January 3, when Mercedes finally unveils the concept car at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btUMyorKm9A