{"id":83170,"date":"2025-08-12T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=83170"},"modified":"2025-08-12T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T16:00:00","slug":"mercedes-vision-v-concept-is-basically-a-private-jet-on-wheels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=83170","title":{"rendered":"Mercedes Vision V concept is basically a private jet on wheels"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\"\"<\/figure>\n

Mercedes gave us a sneak peek of its \u201cVision V\u201d electric van concept, complete with 65-inch TV screen in its private jet-like interior, ahead of its US unveil at Pebble Beach.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Vision V concept was unveiled in Shanghai, China back in April<\/a>, but now it has touched down in the US for the first time and we got a little time to check it out in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

In short, it\u2019s a look at what kind of ultra-luxury experience Mercedes might be able to offer from its upcoming electric van, built on its VAN.EA architecture, which will underpin not just consumer vans but larger commercial vans.<\/p>\n

Although, Mercedes repeatedly told us that this is a \u201cgrand limousine,\u201d rather than a van.<\/p>\n

\tAdvertisement – scroll for more content<\/span><\/p>\n

And while this is just a concept, it shows an idea of the kind of luxury appointments that might be available in Mercedes\u2019 upcoming VLS \u2013 which should hit the road as early as 2026, along with a less luxury-focused VLE.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen the VLE driving around in camouflage<\/a>, but here\u2019s a look at what the model might look like underneath the camouflage. There\u2019s a lot here that won\u2019t make it to production \u2013 but Mercedes assured us that the production version would look a lot more like the concept than we might think.<\/p>\n

Mercedes Vision V exterior \u2013 it\u2019s mighty shiny<\/h2>\n

Immediately on walking up to this thing, it\u2019s shiny<\/em>. Not unexpected from a concept car that has been babied and prepped by a whole crew of people, and the chrome doesn\u2019t hurt either.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

We were looking at the car the same day that Mercedes unveiled its new GLC EV grille design<\/a>, so we got flashy grilles from both sides that day. The GLC has a heavily backlit, pixelated grille, while the Vision V has a big chrome face, though also surrounded by LED lights.<\/p>\n

It was an extremely bright day out in California, so the lights didn\u2019t really show up all that well in the summer sun, but we could still see them in person.<\/p>\n

They surround not just the grille, but the headlight strip, Mercedes logo and even the wheel rims, with hundreds of individual LED elements in total. The lights had a walk-up animation, but could possibly be used for other types of communication (showing charge level on a charging car, for example).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

The wheels are also heavily chromed out, though Mercedes assured us that if anything on this van doesn\u2019t make it to production, it\u2019ll be those chrome 24-inch wheels. You can expect something more normal from the final version of the car.<\/p>\n

The front quarters have an aerodynamic pass-through to reduce turbulence from the wheel wells, which is a design element that I quite like to see \u2013 it\u2019s both different and more efficient. There\u2019s only so much you can do with aerodynamics on a big brick of a vehicle like a van, but Mercedes is giving it a go.<\/p>\n

And on the B-pillar in the photo above you can perhaps see a screen \u2013 which we couldn\u2019t see very well in the bright sun. The area over the B-pillar is also covered with a chrome finish, so even on the shade-side of the car, we were seeing more of our reflection than we were of the screen underneath.<\/p>\n

On the rear end, we see more LEDs surrounding a rear window which is partially obscured by a repeating circular pattern.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

You can also see the tiny side mirrors in that photo \u2013 these will be more traditional for the production model, due to regulations.<\/p>\n

Overall, from the exterior, it doesn\u2019t look that tremendously dissimilar from the camouflaged prototypes we\u2019ve seen. Here\u2019s the first one we saw last October<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Obviously there\u2019s plenty of camouflage here, and it\u2019s been designed in such a way as to obscure the shape of the car.<\/p>\n

\"Mercedes-first-electric-vans-spotted\"<\/figure>\n

But knowing what the car looks like, we can see a lot of similarities \u2013 the grille shape could be there, the pass-throughs at the wheels seem covered-over, the swooping down rear window behind the C-pillar. The headlights certainly look different, and the overall shape of the body looks different, but the latter could be due to additional obfuscation from Mercedes\u2019 camouflage material.<\/p>\n

And finally, on the roof, Mercedes has covered up all that flat space with a 168-cell solar array. The company says the cells are particularly efficient, and that the system can output a total of 539 watts. Over the course of a day, averaged annually, the roof will generate 2.08kWh of energy \u2013 or up to 3.44kWh per day in a Madrid summer (which means you\u2019d see even more in even sunnier, lower-latitude Southern California).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

At Mercedes\u2019 quoted consumption numbers of 15.5kWh per 100km\/62mi, that means ~8 miles of range per day average through the year, or ~3,000 miles total\/year. Which could be enough to get the kids back and forth to school, the store, or soccer practice, but beyond that it\u2019s not a whole lot. And only if you\u2019re parked outside \u2013 we\u2019re willing to bet a VIP limousine probably wouldn\u2019t spend a lot of time out of garages.<\/p>\n

That brings us to the interior, where Mercedes will offer multiple configurations \u2013 from an 8-seat people hauler all the way down to a 4-seat \u201cgrand limousine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mercedes Vision V interior \u2013 like a private jet on wheels<\/h2>\n

The configuration we saw on the Vision V was the grand limousine concept, with only two rear seats and an entirely-too-fancy interior. The front seats have a large screen, split into three sections, running across the whole width of the vehicle, with two kind of odd-looking supports running towards the windshield and then continued into the design of the hood outside the window.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

But the front seat is not the main attraction here. This is a \u201cgrand limousine,\u201d and you\u2019re meant to be chauffeured around in it, not drive yourself around.<\/p>\n

Heading to the back, the side door opens automatically, with a retractable running board. It reveals two rear seats with extensive legroom and luxury appointments around them. Our tour focused on the back seat, rather than the front \u2013 which can recline or lay flat, though we didn\u2019t get a chance to test this.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

On the interior, everything is covered in white Nappa leather, to the point where I felt obliged to take my shoes off before entering. The seats are very cool looking and felt comfortable for the minutes we sat in them, though those will definitely change for production due to crash safety standards.<\/p>\n

Sitting in the rear, you really feel like you\u2019re in your own private pod. All the glass around the vehicle is tinted, and there is glass separating the driver and passengers. That transitional glass can be made opaque for full privacy from the driver.<\/p>\n

\n<\/figure>\n

Rear seat comfort is the entire focus of this particular vehicle, with a lounge-like area surrounded by 42 Dolby Atmos speakers, ambient lights and 7 projectors to create a \u201c360 degree experience\u201d in addition to the 65-inch flatscreen TV which rises up from inside the floor of the vehicle.<\/p>\n

The projectors supplement the flat screen, extending the screen beyond the borders of the TV. This creates the \u201cdigital experience\u201d with \u201cseven worlds of experience\u201d for entertainment, relaxation, work, gaming, shopping, discovery, and karaoke.<\/p>\n

Mercedes gave us a short demo of some of the car\u2019s different modes, though you\u2019ll have to trust us about the Atmos surround sound which doesn\u2019t particularly translate into a phone\u2019s microphone:<\/p>\n

\n

\n