EVs

Mercedes-Benz’s Wild EV Concept Toes The Line Between Racecar and Lounge

And you guessed it, there are gullwing doors.

by Jackson Chen
Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz

Concept cars are usually just a way to get eyeballs on your brand and that’s no different with Mercedes-Benz’s Vision One-Eleven. The German carmaker still squeezed in some novel technology that we’re hoping will be used for its future production-ready EVs.

Modern take on classic concept

The Vision One-Eleven represents a “modern-day interpretation of the C 111,” Gorden Wagener, Mercedes-Benz’schief design officer, said in a statement. For Mercedes-Benz, the C 111 was an experimental design from the ‘60s and ‘70s that featured gullwing doors and an alluring orange-and-black paint job.

Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven

Mercedes-Benz

The Vision One-Eleven's curvy design stretches from its low front end to its rear lights, both of which feature flexible external displays with blue lighting.

Mercedes-Benz

Inside, you can set the Vision One-Eleven to race mode where the interior becomes a minimalist driving machine, or to lounge mode which merges all parts of the car into a single unit.

Better motor design

To power the supercar, Mercedes-Benz is using its YASA-designed axial-flux motors. These motors are a third of the weight and take up a third of the space of existing electric motors but can still manage the same power output.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz

The Concept One-Eleven also uses a liquid-cooled cylindrical-cell battery that’s inspired by Formula 1. While the gullwing doors and futuristic interior are eye-catching, we’re hoping that the axial-flux motors and new battery chemistry could maybe make it to Mercedes-Benz’s production-ready EVs.

Mercedes-Benz

It’s likely that the Vision One-Eleven will remain a flashy concept, but we’re hoping Mercedes-Benz is treating it as a testing ground for improved design, much like it did with the C 111.

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