AUTO: The latest concept car from Mercedes explores avant-garde solutions while displaying a retro look. An idea that is both poetic and full of meaning
If you know the history of the automobile, both the look and the name of this concept car certainly evoke something for you. The Vision One Eleven is of course an evocation that could not be more direct in the legendary C111, a series of laboratory cars with which Mercedes, in the years 1960-1970, explored technical solutions then promising, such as the rotary Wankel engine, and … the turbodiesel. More than a simple aesthetic homage, the descendant of the C111 is also a laboratory. But his field of research is of course electric propulsion.
In addition to the multimedia interfaces and the place of augmented reality which will be studied by an interior with a very “8-bit” look, the One Eleven will above all test solutions currently unpublished in the automobile.
Engine and batteries of the future?
First, the axial flux motor. According to Mercedes, it is only 30% of the weight and 30% of the volume of a radial engine of the same power found in all-electric cars today. This axial motor will be powered by cylindrical cell batteries (they are currently flat) and liquid-cooled.
The advantage of this F1 -inspired solution would be mainly performance. Mercedes specifies in passing that the engine is developed by a British company, and that research on the batteries is conducted by the sports branch Mercedes-AMG. 100% European, therefore.
It remains to be seen whether, like the C111, the One-Eleven will chain speed records or others.
