Mercedes reinvents the experimental C111 as an all-electric stunner

Mercedes-Benz has revived one of its great experimental vehicles, reinterpreting the gorgeously wedged C111 as a modern-day gull-winged supercar. Instead of exploring Wankels and turbos, the new Vision One-Eleven dives deeper into the worlds of all-electric performance, autonomous driving and augmented reality. It's centered around a pair of potent YASA axial-flux motors and features a UI blending next-gen AR with old-school digital. The dramatic two-seater promises to steal any crowd's attention, whether it's testing on the track or simply standing still on stage.

The original Mercedes-Benz C111 was born in the wedge-happy days of 1969. Unlike famous wedge concept cars of the time, the C111 was more than just a show-stealing design study, created as an experimental testbed for new technologies of the time. In fact, it wasn't just a single car but a series of 16, with which Mercedes explored Wankel and turbodiesel engines and polymer-based body construction. The car became something of a Mercedes icon, owing to its unique styling, extreme aerodynamics, cutting-edge experimental technologies and distinctive orange-and-black paint.

With the all-new Vision One-Eleven, Mercedes uses history as a lens for looking into the future. The new concept car shares a general wedge-like shape with the original but reinterprets it using modern bodywork. Its undulating muscles look like they were poured out from a vat of molten metal, much like the automaker's 2013 Vision Gran Turismo and 2018 Vision EQ Silver Arrow. Only this time around, Mercedes swaps out the liqui-metal silver paint for an orange-and-black look handed down from the original C111 but modernized with a deeper, more shimmery shade of orange that greets the eye differently depending upon where one stands in relation to the light.

Sadly, what Mercedes points to as one of the Vision One-Eleven's stand-out departures from C111 styling is also the new concept's biggest pitfall. The bulging front fenders and sleek hood taper into a long, broad front fascia that reminds us more of a vacuum attachment or widened anteater snout than a sports car face. The fact that the "grille" is actually a flexible digital display with 3D pixelated graphics and digital round lights really doesn't make us like it any more, and we miss the original C111's sleeker, more subtle (and analog) grille.

Another '69-to-'23 styling departure comes by way of the Vision One-Eleven's ground-suckingly low stance, defined by an extreme lower aero package so pronounced it looks like a pedestal holding the car off the ground, especially at the rear. The combination of tall, oversized rear diffuser and low front-end accentuate the wedge-like proportions to the point it feels almost dragster-like when viewed from behind.

Other design elements worth noting include the huge gull-wing doors that open to leave entries large enough to cartwheel into, an oblong rear display with pixeled-over light rounds mirroring the front-end (and looking better doing it), and massive wheels sculpted to evoke electric motor windings.

Autonomous car concepts are usually more spacious, comfortable four-doors, but Mercedes uses the Vision One-Eleven to explore how autonomous tech could influence the design of a sports coupe interior. In race mode, the backrests pop upright and the instrument touchscreen focuses the driver's attention. In lounge mode, the seats recline and melt away into the greater interior structure, melding with the sills, center tunnel and luggage compartment into a single spacious lounge.

The interior design minimizes buttons and features but still manages to catch the eye with its white and orange color scheme, not to mention the eye-assaulting shiny quilted seats that look ripped straight from the original C111's era. The white honeycomb fabric is crafted from 100% recycled polyester, while the orange leather has been sustainably processed, tanned using coffee bean husks. We certainly hope the seats are upholstered with recycled space blankets, but no confirmation on that, yet.

In terms of technology, Mercedes sidesteps the high-res color touchscreens that are de rigueur around the industry in favor of a retro-futuristic 8-bit pixelated display running the width of the dashboard. Mercedes sees the coarse pixelated blocks as a way of really highlighting key figures like current speed.

Drivers looking for a more modern digitized experience need only drop on the specially programmed Magic Leap 2 AR headset to immerse themselves in high-definition digital content blended seamlessly with the real, physical world just outside the lenses. Mercedes sees it as the next step beyond screen-based user interfaces, floating a zero-layer configuration of information, including modules, 3D icons and navigational mapping. Where applicable, these elements are fused with the world outside – digital map instructions projected onto the driver's view of the road ahead, for instance, and information pertaining to local points of interest cast onto their respective points in space. The system also "deletes" obstructions such as the A-pillars and car hood, creating a cleaner, more complete driver view.

Like the original C111, the Vision One-Eleven is something of a rolling laboratory of powertrain tech. Mercedes has made some serious gains with prototype battery technology, and the One-Eleven looks to continue forward with its advanced motorsport-derived battery pack featuring liquid-cooled cylindrical cells with a novel F1 chemistry. Those cells fire power into a pair of rear-mounted YASA axial-flux motors that Mercedes quantifies only as "exceptionally powerful."

"Axial-flux motors are significantly lighter and more compact, yet more powerful, than comparable radial-flux motors currently used in 99% of all electric cars," says YASA founder and CTO Tim Woolmer. "In an axial-flux motor, the electromagnetic flow runs parallel to the motor’s rotational axis, which is highly efficient. Compared to radial-flux motors, they have considerably higher and more enduring power reserves, which delivers a whole new level of performance."

Mercedes-Benz AG acquired YASA in 2021, and the company is now a wholly owned Mercedes subsidiary. It plans to build the next-gen axial-flux motors at the Mercedes-Benz Berlin-Marienfelde manufacturing plant for use in future performance cars.

Mercedes does not say if the Vision One-Eleven will go on to become a working testbed like its spiritual predecessor or directly influence a future supercar, but it does say it's launching the "Limited Edition 1 of 111" collection alongside the concept car. So if you want to buy some overpriced vanity merch that doesn't look nearly as good in bright orange and black as the car, you'll have a selection of goods like travel bags and binoculars over which to fight other overeager consumers.

Source: Mercedes-Benz