Mercedes is a brand with a rich history, but one that’s always ensured it’s moving forward by pioneering the use of advance tech years before its rivals. Now its blended elements of its past and future to create a stunning new concept, the Mercedes Vision One-Eleven.
While the orange and black color scheme, the gullwing doors and some of the design details make clear references to the firm’s C111 experimental concepts from the 1960s and ’70s, this is no pointless rehash of an old supercar for cheap clicks. The lightweight axial-flux electric motor technology, augmented reality interior display and no doubt some of the design features point to where Mercedes is heading in the coming years.
Related: 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT Ditches Camo, Reveals Unique Front Fender Vents
There’s an almost Maserati-like look to curvy front fenders and nose of the One-Eleven, which is cupped by a huge lower spoiler and contains a large oval air intake that is actually a digital panel capable of displaying messages.
The hood line extends without a break over the windshield, the 1,170 mm-high (46-inch) roof and rear window, right down to another digital oval panel that replicates the one at the front, giving the whole car an organic look that’s a million miles away from the sharp creases and angles of something like the new Lamborghini Revuelto.
There’s no visible rear wing on the upper body, but considering what’s down below, it probably doesn’t need one at its unspecified, but presumably lofty, top speed. Mercedes says the colossal rear spoiler, with its blue backlighting makes the concept appear as if it is “fused with the road surface,” and if it offers as much downforce as it looks, the One-Eleven probably is.
F1 battery tech and next-generation motors
While the original C-111 concepts tested rotary and diesel powertrains, the One-Eleven is all about electric power, though with a twist. The car’s batteries, developed with the help of the company’s F1 team, feature high-performance liquid-cooled cylindrical cells with a ‘novel’ cell chemistry, and the twin electric motors are noteworthy, too.
They’re axial-flux motors from UK-based, Benz-owned Yasa, and are claimed to be lighter, more compact and more powerful than radial-flux motors. Mercedes says it’s working with Yasa on bringing the tech to large-scale production for its next-generation of EVs.
Supercar styling, but sedan-like space
The small size of those electric motors has enabled Mercedes to extend the cabin rearward, making the interior of the One-Eleven a far more roomy place than your usual supercar cockpit. Beyond the high door sills lie a pair of silver bucket seats that look like they’re left over from the 1960s space race, and the extensive white coloring on the recycled polyster dash, floor and tunnel coverings contrast with brown leather tanned using coffee bean husks.
Remember the oval digital display on the nose and tail? You’ll find something similar being used as a full-width, retro-futuristic dashboard display behind the rectangular steering wheel. And if you feel the need for even more digital content you can slip on the Magic Leap 2 augmented reality headset, which turns the entire car into a user interface, and even allows you to see right through the A-pillars. We can think of a few cars with A-pillars like elephants legs where that trick would be useful.
Mercedes says the One-Eleven is just a concept, and hasn’t even released any real technical details, so while elements like the digital tech and electric drivetrain advances are headed for the showroom, the hypercar as you see it, isn’t. At least not officially. But after speaking with Mercedes design chief Gordon Wagener, Top Gear didn’t seem to be ruling the possibility os something similar finding its way into the hands of a few billionaires in years to come.
Do you think the One-Eleven would make a worthy successor the Mercedes-AMG One? Drop a comment below and let us know what you think of it.
