The Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic Concept Is a Thing of Beauty

So many concept car designs try too hard to look “futuristic.” The Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic Concept looks to the past for inspiration, and the result is simply stunning. Created under the leadership of Mercedes-Benz Chief Designer Gorden Wagener, the Vision Iconic celebrates 1930s art deco design while incorporating modern technology.

Blending Mercedes-Benz elegance with a modern sense of drama, the streamlined black coupé has a marvelously long front end – despite not having an engine under its lengthy hood. Instead, it’s envisioned as a pure electric car, integrating innovative tech like a body coated with a solar paint that soaks up energy to help extend its driving range.

I love how its grille recalls those of classic Mercedes-Benz cars while updating it with LED lighting, smoked glass, and a glowing star hood ornament. God, I miss hood ornaments. Unfortunately — thanks to pedestrian safety, aerodynamics, and theft by hoodlums — these iconic automotive accents are a rare sight in the 21st century.

In addition to the car’s clever charging tech, its designers envision incorporating neuromorphic computing tech, which is intended to emulate the way the human brain works to make systems (including AI) run faster and more efficiently. There’s also Level 4 autonomous driving tech on board to allow drivers to take their hands off of the wheel and let the car do the hard work. Also notable are its use of steer-by-wire tech, rear-axle steering, and self-parking features.

Inside, the Vision Iconic is like a fancy lounge on wheels. The space incorporates luxurious and classic materials like mother-of-pearl trim, blue velvet bench seating, and brass accents. The zeppelin-shaped glass dashboard looks like something from the mind of Jules Verne, and the glowing analog gauges with visible gears are moving works of art under glass. Speaking of glass, the steering wheel features a glass sphere at its center with a floating Mercedes-Benz logo inside.

While it’s doubtful that Mercedes-Benz will ever produce a car based on the Vision Iconic, I’d be thrilled if they made a limited run of them, if only so the jetset can drive around town and let us peons get a peek at one from afar.