The One-Eleven Idea takes inspiration from the collection of C 111 experimental autos from the 60s and the 70s. which had been used to check revolutionary Wankel and turbodiesel engines.

They had been additionally prototypes for testing polymer-based bodyshells. The mid-engine sports activities vehicles are thought of design icons of their period, not least resulting from their distinctive gullwing doorways and crowd pleasing orange-and-black paintwork.

From the official Press Launch:

Exterior Design

The physique of the Mercedes-Benz Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven centres on the execution of the One-Bow design. From the low-slung entrance finish to the muscular hind quarters, it runs in a clean bow that endows the simply 1,170 mm-high automobile silhouette with a particularly sculptural really feel.

This harmonises  with the copper-orange alubeam paintwork and offers an unmistakeable reference to the distinctive color of the C 111.

Additional notable options of the facet view embrace the flush-fit gullwing doorways and the facet home windows, that are opaque from the skin and camouflaged by a pixelated sample.

One other is the large-diameter wheels inserted seamlessly into the wheel arches beneath voluminous flared wings. The wheel design incorporates components evocative of electrical motor windings.

They stand in spirited distinction to the automobile’s minimalist and clean floor design, which is extra akin to a sculptural artwork piece. This distinction is typical of the X-factors the model applies to its design considering and a particular function of the Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven.

One other placing distinction arises by means of the very low-slung entrance and rear skirts completed in matte black. The 2 deeply scooped aerodynamic components are visually related by two blade profiles in the identical color operating alongside the flanks beneath the sills.

These profiles function piercings which might be backlit in blue. The practical aerodynamic components additionally function an extra design reference to the C 111, which is painted black on the decrease portion of its bodyshell.

The darkish “keel line” of the Mercedes-Benz Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven generates an impression of seamless transition between the automobile and the bottom beneath it that’s much more highly effective than that of the C 111. The type of the automotive seems fused with the street floor.

The front-end design

From the frontal side, too, the  Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven is  evocative of the C 111. Intimately, nonetheless, there are  variations.

On each autos the entrance finish consists of a low-lying rectangular aspect with rounded ends left and proper. On the C 111, it is a closed plastic aspect with a honeycomb construction, fitted with spherical foglamps.

Within the corresponding half on the Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven the panel is a versatile exterior show with a 3D pixelated look, which interprets the C 111’s attribute spherical lights in digitised kind and may also convey messages to different street customers.

In distinction to the C 111, the Mercedes-Benz Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven bears a U-shaped and strongly profiled entrance apron. Above the slender mild band, each forefather and descendant present additional similarities, most notably the black air intakes on the bonnet.

The rear-end design

The rear-end of the Mercedes-Benz Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven is likewise dominated by a diffuser. Spanning the breadth above it’s a show that echoes the form of its counterpart on the entrance finish and options the identical pixelated construction within the pink taillights. Just like the blade profiles alongside the edges, blue lighting results are additionally seen on the rear. The interior face of the wheels is fitted with round lighting components.

Inside design

Inside, the Mercedes-Benz Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven presents the primary sports activities automotive inside with a lounge idea. It displays the paradigm shift from self-driven sports activities automotive to autonomous electrical automobile throughout the tremendous sportscar section and unites two fully totally different states of being.

In race mode with the backrest upright and the compact driver-oriented touchscreen, the inside turns into that of a minimalist driving machine. Conversely, in lounge mode, the seats are absolutely built-in into the inside sculpture, which merges sills, centre tunnel and baggage compartment right into a single unit.

This creates an entire new, exceptionally ethereal spatial idea. In distinction to earlier mid-engine sports activities vehicles, it takes benefit of the compact proportions of electrical motors to increase the inside rearwards. Consequently, the lounge-like inside invitations occupants to take their time and calm down – a very new strategy for the sports activities automotive of the longer term.

The massive surfaces such because the dashboard are upholstered in white material displaying a tech-look honeycomb construction. The fabric is made out of 100-percent recycled polyester. Different components such because the armrests on the sills and centre console, in addition to the rear parcel shelf beneath the expansive rear windscreen, are clad in vibrant orange leather-based. This creates a clean transition from inside to baggage compartment. The sustainably processed leather-based was tanned utilizing espresso bean husks. Polished aluminium within the steering-wheel spokes and inlaid as straps throughout the armrests underscore the tech appear and feel. The identical applies to the brake and accelerator pedals, each of that are made out of polished aluminium and ground mounted.

In any other case, the inside tools within the Mercedes-Benz Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven has been diminished to a minimal. Like the outside, the duty right here too was to maintain the variety of add-on options to a naked minimal. The seats are good examples as they don’t comply with the traditional format. As an alternative, the seat cushions are built-in flush-fit into the ground. This creates the preliminary impression of the bucket seat in a Components 1 race automotive. The orange 4‑level harness and its high-gloss polished buckle additional reinforce the sporting character.

Nonetheless, the progressive seats mix this sporting really feel with luxurious consolation as a result of, not like in a Components 1 race automotive, the angle of the backrest might be adjusted. The silver shimmer of their diamond-quilted upholstery underscores the first-class inside atmosphere. Between the seats is a compact centre console, freestanding in house.

The one extremely advanced function within the inside is the leather-clad steering wheel, which is fitted with numerous practical controls and state-of-the-art contact components. That is complemented by a compact touchscreen with high-resolution show mounted to the facet of the steering wheel and angled in direction of the driving force. It exhibits all related automobile info as required.

UI/UX Expertise

The distinction to the fashionable inside is offered by the slender pixel show spanning all the breadth of the dashboard, choosing up on the type of the entrance and rear mild bands. Right here too, the pixel construction is deliberately coarse, which supplies the data displayed – resembling the present velocity – a strikingly daring look. Furthermore, the 3D pixel show exhibits digital artwork items as a coarsely rasterised stream of QR codes within the model of “early digital” information tickers. That is executed with the assistance of glass pixels that present a altering color gradient relying on the viewing angle. The corresponding actual picture then seems razor sharp on the high-resolution display subsequent to the steering wheel.

This mix of vastly differing representations of the identical picture embodies an extra interpretation of the MBUX Hyperscreen with a concentrate on versatile interfaces. The retro-futuristic, 8-bit look thus creates an extra X-factor. The event within the Mercedes-Benz Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven reinforces the growing fusion of bodily and digital.

For the premiere of the Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven, Mercedes-Benz designers have created a visionary consumer expertise with assistance from augmented actuality (AR), setting it inside a digital prototype of the Imaginative and prescient One‑Eleven inside. As quickly as the driving force dons the Magic Leap 2 augmented actuality headset, their expertise is enriched with high-definition digital content material that’s contextually built-in into their environment. It creates a seamless spatial mix of bodily inside and digital consumer interface past the display. In impact, all the automotive turns into the consumer interface.

Mercedes-Benz has been exploring the advantages of AR for the reason that launch of the F015 idea automotive in 2015. The AR UI on this new automotive presents a imaginative and prescient of the longer term that works on two ranges: the data hooked up to the dashboard and data positioned within the setting inside and outdoors the automotive. This marks the subsequent step from screen-based UI with Mercedes-Benz intuitive zero-layer expertise to an AR UI that arranges zero‑layer components across the consumer in house. Parts embrace modules, 3D icons and the navigation map. The management interface across the dashboard and steering wheel can be augmented with extra contextualised info hooked up to precise objects resembling buttons or switches.

The 180-degree AR view incorporates the world exterior the digital prototype – fusing the automotive effortlessly with its environment and putting the driving force on the centre. Map components are projected into the setting, which is enriched with additional info resembling locations of pursuits or hidden hazards resembling roadworks past a bend. With this X-ray view, the system enhances situational consciousness by mixing out unimportant particulars to create an uncluttered picture of related enter. Parts that hinder the driving force’s line of sight – such because the A-pillar, doorways and even the bonnet – then seem “clear”. Mercedes-Benz designers and consultants labored with the technical specialists at Magic Leap to develop and refine the AR expertise showcased within the Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven utilizing the extremely superior Magic Leap 2 AR glasses.

The spatial consumer interface is a beacon for a Mercedes-Benz consumer expertise that’s unencumbered by expertise. It’s a part of a wider imaginative and prescient that appears in direction of prolonged actuality, whereby expertise and {hardware} stop to be the focus; as an alternative turning into absolutely built-in and seamless facilitators of consumer wants and needs.

Electrical powertrain

Expertise highlights embrace a brand new battery idea that includes high-performance liquid-cooled cylindrical cells with a novel cell chemistry. As soon as extra, the intensive information of the motorsport consultants from Mercedes-AMG Excessive Efficiency Powertrain in Brixworth discovered its approach into this promising idea for future performance-oriented batteries. Except for that, the Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven options two exceptionally highly effective and superior axial-flux motors from YASA. Mercedes-Benz is creating this expertise along with YASA to massive scale manufacturing maturity for its next-generation electrical drives. YASA is a British electric-motor specialist primarily based in Oxford and has been a 100-percent subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG since July 2021. The corporate has thus secured entry to a singular future expertise that has the potential to take electrical mobility to a brand new stage of efficiency.

Alongside its energy and torque density, one other main profit is the slim bundle, which reduces each its weight and dimensions. The burden of an axial-flux motor is only one third of that of present electrical motors with the identical energy output. On the similar time, it requires simply one-third of the house occupied by a radial-flux motor. This opens up fully new choices for engineers in addition to new freedoms within the design of an electrical automobile as demonstrated by the Imaginative and prescient One-Eleven.

The long run technology of YASA axial-flux motors will probably be produced on the Mercedes-Benz Berlin-Marienfelde plant. The motors manufactured there will probably be on the coronary heart of the forthcoming powertrain for the efficiency section.

(Supply: Mercedes-Benz)