Mercedes-Benz has showcased its new Vision One-Eleven concept car. The low and sleek design arches back to the C111 prototypes of the 60s and 70s, incorporating it into Stuttgart’s recent ‘One-Bow’ shape specific to EVs. The new concept features a new axial flux motor from subsidiary YASA, supposedly lighter, smaller, and more powerful.

Mercedes-Benz is proud of its past and demonstrates this affection with this new Vision One-Eleven concept car. The low machine hints back to the C111 experimental vehicles from the 60s and 70s. However, there’s no Wankel or turbo diesel motor, but an innovative electric powertrain.

C111/II

This concept car isn’t a fortuitous coincidence. Back in the 60s and 70s, the Mercedes C111 program spawn a few prototype vehicles in the shape of aero mid-engine sportscars. Back then, they were used to test polymer body shells, rotary Wankel engines, and powerful turbodiesels. Today, in the age of the electron, the focus has changed.

Design cues arching back to the prototypes are everywhere. From the two notches in the front hood reminding the C111/II, to the specific orange and black paintwork. Even the gullwing doors are back. The Vision One-Eleven is also low (1,17 m high) and extremely aerodynamic, emphasizing the brand’s EV-specific ‘One-Bow’ shape.

“Our goal at Mercedes-Benz is not to do styling – our goal is to create icons. Our all-electric vision show car is the modern-day interpretation of the C111, 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,” said Gorden Wagener, Mercedes’s Chief Design Officer.

Axial flux motor

In the spirit of the C111 prototypes testing out new forms of powertrains, the Vision One-Eleven showcases a new axial flux electric motor. While it might sound like something out of Back to the Future, this is a significantly lighter and more compact, yet more powerful unit.

In this motor, the electromagnetic flow runs parallel to the motor’s rotational axis, which is highly efficient. Furthermore, the weight of an axial-flux motor is just one-third of that of current electric motors with the same power output.

‘Innovative battery’

Alongside this new electric motor from Mercedes’ subsidiary YASA, the Vision One-Eleven is also equipped with a new battery concept. It features liquid-cooled cylindrical cells with what Mercedes calls a “novel cell chemistry”. However, apart from that marketing gobbledygook, no further information is given, not on the chemistry or battery size.

It’s all well and good, but Mercedes promises that we’ll find features of the Vision One-Eleven in future EVs from Stuttgart. Whether it is the new motor, the leather tanned with sustainable coffee bean husks, or the augmented reality features inside, we don’t know yet.