STUTTGART: Even the most high-tech of concept cars at motor shows look like relics from old sci-fi movies next to the Vision AVTR, a concept from Mercedes that aims to look not a generation or two into the future but rather to leap forward a whole century.
And because that's a pretty long time even for designers with a lot of visionary foresight, they got a little help from Hollywood, namely legendary director James Cameron.
The car was inspired by his blockbuster "Avatar" and like the creatures in that movie, the luxury saloon is intended to exist in harmony with nature.
With balloon-like tyres festooned with thousands of LEDs and illuminated flaps on the roof that act as solar panels, this self-driving car certainly looks futuristic. The glass doors are frameless and swing upwards like the wings of insects.
Inside there's an airy and luxurious four-seater lounge, which, apart from the Mercedes logo on the curved display module that replaces the dashboard, is not much is reminiscent of a car at all.
The car wakes up with a spectacular light show and everything shimmers in the same blue colour that dominates Pandora, the planet in "Avatar."
You can relax in a vegan imitation leather lounger while a movie is shown on the console and the car drives you to your destination.
Being environmentally friendly is the focus here with a carpet of sustainably harvested rainforest rattan while the console is made of plastic rubbish taken from the sea.
The controls are as unusual as the materials: there are no instruments or switches and everything the passengers need to know is projected onto the console.
The only real operating element is the so-called merge device, through which man and machine become one — at least in the concept of the designers.
In practice, it's a silicone-clad knob that's shaped like a jellyfish and which works as a joystick when the driver wants to take back control from the autopilot.
The driving force comes from four electric motors that together produce more than 476 horsepower and which are fed by a 110 kWh battery that doesn't contain rare, toxic or expensive materials or metals - in fact the battery is 100 per cent compostable.
The theoretical driving performance is appropriate for a luxury coupe: A top speed of 200 km/h and a range of 700 kilometres on a single charge.
Another unusual feature: The car can move sideways crab-style by around 30 degrees.
The car is far from road-ready yet, and Mercedes says it won't be launching before the year 2153. And yet the Vision AVTR offers a possible glimpse into a distant future — perhaps in a century it will look perfectly normal.
