THE FUTURE HAS ARRIVED IN THE FORM OF THE MERCEDES-BENZ VISION ONE-ELEVEN CONCEPT - AND IT'S AMAZING!
Mercedes-Benz presents a new sports car study, and they’ve dubbed it as the Vision One-Eleven, a glimpse into the future inspired by the tradition of the legendary C 111 experimental vehicles from the 1960s and 70s that were used to test revolutionary engines and polymer-based bodyshells. These aerodynamic mid-engine sports cars are considered design icons of their era. “Our goal at Mercedes-Benz is not to do styling – our goal is to create icons. To me, that makes the difference between mainstream design and luxury. Design icons like the Type 300 SL and C 111 – both with gullwing doors – are part of our DNA. These legendary vehicles were major inspirations for the iconic design of the Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven. This is beauty and the extraordinary united in one vision of the future. Our all-electric vision show car is the modern-day interpretation of the C 111, which was avant-garde at the time. The element of surprise comes from its exceptionally clean, purist and, at the same time, extremely muscular proportions. This iconic clarity is also reflected in the interior. The equally sensual but minimalist design language stands for ICONIC LUXURY by Mercedes-Benz.” says Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer, Mercedes-Benz Group AG.
“The Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven combines breathtaking design with groundbreaking powertrain technology. Like its historical namesake, it explores new paths for the future of sporting performance. At the heart of the compact and extremely efficient powertrain is the innovative YASA axial-flux high-tech electric motor. It offers a motorsport-like power output from a considerably smaller package. This makes the YASA axial-flux motor ideal for electric high-performance vehicles. Combined with the liquid-cooled cylindrical-cell battery with Formula-1 inspired cell chemistry, the Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven is yet another proof point for the broad performance spectrum encompassed by our four-pronged development strategy for electric drive.” comments Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Chief Technology Officer
The body of the Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven retains the One-Bow design and is a mere 1 170 mm high, and features flush-fit gullwing doors a smooth front end with a rectangular design with a honeycomb structure with round fog lights, the panel is a flexible external display with a 3D pixelated look. It’s the same at the rear, the smooth lines drop to a sharp flat piece that ties into the front design and looks sort of like a digital display. Inside there’s a lounge concept, a first for a sportscar. Race Mode sees the backrests upright and while in lounge mode, the seats are fully integrated into the interior sculpture, merging the sills, centre tunnel and luggage compartment into a single unit. Interior equipment in the Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven is minimalistic and cockpit-like with freestanding seats and a steering wheel jutting out, it does look rather impressive. There’s a slender pixel display spanning the entire length of the dashboard, the pixel structure is intentionally coarse and so the driver the information displayed is bold and looks like old-school digital. While all this is amazing, it’s the electric powertrain that is the star of the show - the high-performance axial-flux motor from YASA, along with all-new battery technology.
“Axial-flux motors are significantly lighter and more compact, yet more powerful than comparable radial-flux motors currently used in 99 per cent of all electric cars. In an axial-flux motor, the electromagnetic flow runs parallel to the motor’s rotational axis, which is highly efficient. In a radial-flux motor, the flow runs perpendicular to the rotational axis. Compared to radial-flux motors, they have considerably higher and more enduring power reserves, which delivers a whole new level of performance.” says Tim Woolmer, Founder and Chief Technology Officer of YASA.
Take a look at the YouTube video that shows off what Mercedes-Benz thinks the future of electronic vehicles will look like, and we have to say that it certainly looks amazing, and with the way the motoring landscape is growing and progressing, they may be on point. Well, on-point as far as travel goes when you're on the wealthy end of the scale, this is definitely something that regular Joe Soap will ever have in his driveway: Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven | Mercedes-Benz
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