Mercedes Vision Iconic is a Concept for an Uncertain Future

Mercedes has struggled in recent years with the design and execution of its first-generation electric vehicles EVs). The Vision Iconic appears to be an attempt to set things right for the premium brand and provides an interesting view into the automaker’s anxieties.

The Vision Iconic is a stunning repudiation of the soap-bar designs that defined Mercedes’ early EVs. Unlike the EQS and EQE, the Vision Iconic has a long hood, an SL trunk, and the tall, vertical grille that first appeared on the new electric GLC. While the shape highlights the strength of the front-end, flat fascias tend not to be as aerodynamic as the rounded ones that were found on vehicles like the EQE.

Indeed, the Vision Iconic is a bit of a strange design for an EV. The tall grilles and long hoods that defined the vehicles of the early part of the last century were there to accommodate large engines. One of the major advantages of EVs is that their small motors allow designers to dedicate more of a vehicle’s footprint to occupants, rather than powertrain — something the Vision Iconic is clearly not interested in doing.

Elsewhere, the Vision Iconic is rather eclectic in its choice of inspirations. While lighting is a nod to the digital era, the brand says the grille shape is inspired by the W108 of the mid-to-late '60s, it admits that the overall design is inspired by the “golden era of automotive design of the 1930s,” and from the rear the reference to the 300SL (which hails from the ‘50s) is hard to miss.

If the Vision Iconic is a bit of a grab bag of visual influences on the outside, it is at least a little more focused on the inside. Blue velvet upholstery, blue fan-shaped straw marquetry on the floors, and a “Zeppelin” glass floating structure on the dash are all clearly rooted in Art Deco design.

However, there’s an uneasy dedication to both the digital and the analog. The automaker writes that it was inspired by chronographs for the interior (a well Bugatti drew from for its latest model), but it simply stacks four clocks atop one another in the middle of the bulging dash, and one of them is an AI companion. For all the horological references, there appear to be no analog controls for the infotainment system, which is a pillar to pillar screen.

Even from a technological standpoint, the concept car is oddly uneasy. While it isn’t unusual for automaker’s to highlight upcoming solutions with show vehicles, this one is especially concerned with powering the vehicle.

Whether it’s because of the new, seemingly less aerodynamic shape, or because of the AI technology we know to be highly consumptive, there’s a lot of focus on saving energy here. For instance, there's the “neuromorphic” computing that will supposedly make the AI that powers the Vision Iconic’s advanced driver aids work more like a human brain to potentially reduce its power draw by 90 per cent.

Meanwhile, the concept's photovoltaic paint could help drivers recoup thousands of kilometres' worth of energy per year (in sunny locations). These are both interesting technologies, to be sure, though they contribute to a sense of anxiety regarding how to power both the vehicle and its advanced technology.

Indeed, the Vision Iconic appears to be a rather self-conscious design from a brand that is trying to rebuild its EV lineup after dropping its EQ naming convention. From the design that seems to hedge its bets by drawing widely from Mercedes’ history, to the technology that —even in Mercedes’ most optimistic vision of the future — must be accounted for with efficiency-seeking counter-technologies, the Mercedes Vision Iconic appears to have emerged out of brand that has doubts about the future.