Don’t adjust your screen. The Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR is quite an outlandish concept car that was shown at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) taking place in the US at the moment. It is the same showcase that electronics giant Sony used to unveil its very first car, called the Vision-S.

Follow Double Apex on Instagram and Facebook where we share more car content.

Otherworldly inspiration

Mercedes-Benz designers took inspiration from the hit movie Avatar for its flight of future fancy. The AVTR moniker also stands for Advanced Vehicle Transformation. This concept vehicle embodies the vision of Mercedes-Benz designers, engineers and trend researchers for mobility in the distant future.

Transparent doors allow occupants to feel as though they are outside, yet still protected from the elements. The doors swing upwards like the wings of an insect. 33 “bionic flaps” on the back of the vehicle are reminiscent of reptile scales. They can communicate with the driver and through the driver with their outside world by means of naturally flowing movements in subtle gestures.

Check out this Mercedes-Benz concept car that looks to the company’s past.

The concept of the Vision AVTR takes an inside-out design structure and was inspired by several creatures from the movie Avatar. Instead of a conventional steering wheel, the multifunctional control element in the centre console allows human and machine to merge. By placing the hand on the control unit, the interior comes to life and the vehicle recognises the driver by his or her heartbeat and breathing.

Due to the possibility to drive the front and rear axles in the same or opposite direction, the Vision AVTR can move sideways by approximately 30 degrees. This crab-like movement gives the concept vehicle an animal-like appearance also for its motions. The spherical shaped wheels were adopted to allow the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR to move smoothly and softly over the ground.

Clean power

The Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR uses a revolutionary battery technology based on graphene-based organic cell chemistry. This tech is completely clean of rare earth metals. The materials of the battery are compostable and therefore completely recyclable. In this way, electric mobility becomes independent of fossil resources. This battery powers four high-performance electric motors, one per wheel, producing close to 350 kW. Total range is quoted as 700 km.

In his own words

“The world of Avatar is a cosmos full of new shapes and colours, and such inspirations are inherently inspiring for designers,” Gorden Wagener, chief design officer of the Daimler Group, explains. “Just think of all the extraordinary environments, life forms, and also the culture of the indigenous Na’vi inhabitants in the world of Pandora; everything is closely related to our design philosophy and the bipolarity of our brands of intelligence and emotion.”