Mercedes-Benz Imaginative and prescient V Idea Previews A Vary-Topping Electrical Luxurious Van That is Coming To America

Have a dialog with any self-respecting automotive fanatic — or, no less than, any auto journalist — and they’re going to finally begin speaking to you about how a lot they love minivans. Vans usually, actually. They will not be the sexiest automobiles on the street, however they’re eminently helpful and infrequently genuinely fascinating by way of design and engineering. Some vans are getting actually luxurious too, in some ways far surpassing conventional luxurious rides just like the sedan and SUV choices from Bentley, Mercedes-Maybach and Rolls-Royce. The high-end chauffeur-driven van market has exploded in China and Japan, with the Europe and the Center East rising rapidly, however apart from kinda-fancy variations of minivans just like the Kia Carnival and a few aftermarket creations, the U.S. has but to get any of those superb new luxurious vans.

That is gonna change subsequent 12 months with the introduction of the next-generation Mercedes-Benz V-Class, which has existed for years in Europe however will lastly be coming to America. Whereas the present V-Class is a tarted-up Metris business van — admittedly one that may be had in a fairly superior chauffeur-ready four-seat configuration — the brand new one shall be a standalone mannequin designed to be a “non-public lounge.” Right this moment on the Shanghai Auto Present Mercedes unveiled the Imaginative and prescient V, an idea previewing the top-end model of the subsequent V-Class that would be the most luxurious passenger-oriented car within the model’s lineup.

Full disclosure: Mercedes-Benz flew me to Germany, fed me and put me up in a lodge so I might get studio previews of the Imaginative and prescient V and the brand new CLA earlier than their reveals, together with getting to speak with the corporate CEO, designers and product planners.

Sure, actually. Mercedes sees vans as the subsequent nice frontier for luxurious automobiles, and the Imaginative and prescient V is for patrons with the “highest calls for.” The model says for this subsequent technology of vans it needed to make a transparent distinction between business vans and privately owned ones, so whereas each the Metris and V-Class will trip on the newly developed electrical Van.EA platform, they will have completely distinctive designs and options. You’ll get variations of the V-Class with extra tame interiors and seating configurations, however breaking into the highest finish of the market is necessary. The corporate is not going to promote it as a van, however merely probably the most luxurious passenger expertise you may get from Mercedes.

Mercedes stays dedicated to an all-electric future, particularly for high-end automobiles, however inside combustion vans will stick round in the interim to bridge the hole. There may also be a Van.CA platform for combustion-engined variations of the vans, produced on the identical line with 70% of the identical components because the Van.EA equivalents, however these new vans had been designed with an electric-first strategy like with the CLA by which the complete EV will simply be the most effective model. Each platforms will underpin new variations of the bigger Sprinter as nicely.

The outside of the Imaginative and prescient V is fairly pared-back by way of surfacing and detailing, however the stuff that’s right here is fairly wild. Its overhangs are fairly brief, particularly on the nostril, and the hood itself is brief as nicely. The windshield is swept again, making a barely tapering roofline that ends in a pleasant spoiler. Creases over the fenders, properly sculpted sides, and the chrome-accented window line with a forward-canted D-pillar assist improve the dynamic look. Mercedes says “the very best requirements of aerodynamic efficiency” had been wanted. Whereas Mercedes hasn’t given dimensions this factor is huge, actually longer than the present V-Class.

You might by no means mistake the Imaginative and prescient V’s entrance finish for something however a Mercedes. A shield-like chrome panel within the nostril makes use of mild bars to evoke the eggcrate grilles of Nineteen Sixties Benzes, and the headlights characteristic three-pointed stars like on the brand new CLA. Nearly 200 particular person three-dimensional louvers comprised of illuminated glass encompass the grille, and 190 extra encompass the headlights and sit beneath the hood. With the smile-shaped chrome trim alongside the decrease finish of the bumper and the hood’s pair of outstanding energy domes the Imaginative and prescient V has a characterful face, and it is all topped off by an illuminated three-pointed star hood decoration. These fabulous 24-inch monoblock wheels even have illuminated louvers, and the big glass tailgate is framed by greater than 450 of the glass items to create a singular taillight signature, making up every thing from the brake lights and switch indicators to the high-mounted CHMSL. 

Take the implausible padded seats, clear storage compartments and full Crystal White Nappa leather-based coloration scheme out of the equation, and the Imaginative and prescient V’s inside is a fairly good concept of what the V-Class’ cabin shall be like, no less than for the entrance seats. That three-screen dashboard-spanning Superscreen show is identical as what’s within the new CLA, and the general rectangular shapes of the middle console and door panels ought to translate to manufacturing fairly simply. Sadly, I doubt the uncovered metallic helps for the display will make their option to the manufacturing mannequin — take a look at how they circulation into the design of the hood bulges.

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The clear part beneath the middle armrest is room for tablets and telephones, whereas the areas within the door panels maintain sun shades and a thermos. The Burmester stereo audio system are actually properly built-in into the clear panels as nicely, and together with a heavy use of open-pore burr wooden, polished metallic and ambient lighting the entire thing has a complete Star Trek vibe. The seats are made up of particular person tubular cushions held along with aluminum clasps that make the floor appear like one steady piece of leather-based, and the aluminum bases additional add to the sci-fi look.

The idea has one large sliding “portal” door on the passenger facet (the manufacturing automotive could have a door on all sides), and it opens to disclose a very ridiculous front room–like house for the 2 individuals within the again. A protracted working board deploys to make it simpler to climb in, however the door opening is already large, the ceiling is excessive, and the ground is flat, so I’ve no drawback getting in or out of the seats and shifting round. The seats have an analogous design to those within the entrance, however they’re in a position to recline flat like in a firstclass airplane seat, a lot flatter than what you get in a Maybach S-Class or GLS — a characteristic that needs to be discovered on the manufacturing automotive, too.

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Positioned within the show cupboards again listed below are a cocktail set, a purse and a splendidly designed chess set, which you’ll be able to play on the tables that fold out from the middle console between the 2 seats. That console can electronically slide ahead and backward, routinely doing so when the seats are moved. Mounted onto the wooden panels are extra audio system with glass enclosures which might be hooked up to handmade brackets, which might match proper right into a home in “Minority Report.” There are 42 audio system in whole for the Dolby Atmos–enabled sound system, and it sounds completely unbelievable.

As a substitute of open house or a easy partition wall behind the entrance seats, the Imaginative and prescient V has a glass partition that may go from clear to opaque on the press of a button, both in sections or in full. The facet home windows, rear window and panoramic sunroof are additionally electrochromic. The glass partition would not go all the best way to the ground, although, as a substitute being positioned in a wood-capped console that flows up from the leather-lined flooring. In that curved part of the ground, what look like regular trim piece slats are literally clear panels that allow you to see what’s housed beneath the ground: a retractable 65-inch 4K display that motors up in entrance of the partition.

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The display might be put up simply partway, to show one thing like music data or an animated hearth, or it may be prolonged all the best way up so you may watch films, play video video games, browse the net, make video convention calls, do karaoke, or use all types of different apps and digital media options. It’s also possible to have a split-screen mode that exhibits completely different apps and knowledge without delay. Seven projectors discovered all through the inside lengthen the view of no matter you are watching onto the roof, sides and flooring, and occupants are additional immersed by exciters within the seats and ambient lighting that pulses and adjustments coloration together with the audio.

Whereas the manufacturing V-Class’ inside will not be fairly this ridiculous, and it undoubtedly will not have the projectors or a retractable show, you may depend on it having an elective partition with a large display. That is one thing already provided in vans just like the Lexus LM, Toyota Alphard, Buick Century, Zeekr 009, and others. I bought to play “Forza Horizon 5” whereas sitting within the Imaginative and prescient V and see demos of the varied leisure modes and the way movies look, and if I had the cash for a luxurious automotive and a driver, I might completely wish to be carted round in a van with a setup like this.

You may observe that regardless of how extravagant this idea is, it is nonetheless simply branded as a Mercedes-Benz, not a Maybach. Is that to go away room for an excellent fancier Maybach model of the V-Class? The corporate’s representatives performed coy, but it surely looks like a positive guess to me. The Mercedes vans crew is conscious of the recognition of fake Maybach conversions within the U.S., the place aftermarket outfitters take fundamental Metris vans, put within the nicer sprint from the Euro V-Class, and provides the rear passenger space a complete makeover with Maybach-like seats and design accoutrements. I imply, if Kim Kardashian is shopping for these aftermarket “Maybach” vans, absolutely she would purchase an actual Maybach van (and even “simply” a Mercedes one).

Regardless, earlier than we see that we have to see the usual V-Class first. Mercedes says the brand new van shall be launched in 2026, which might imply a reveal earlier than the tip of this 12 months. As for worth, the present V-Class begins at round $60,000 in Germany and reaches previous $100,000 with choices; anticipate top-of-the-line variations of the brand new one to exceed that by fairly a bit. However like I stated, wild four-seaters with partitions will not be the one variations of the V-Class we get in America. There shall be loads of regular three-row ones too, which can nonetheless be a lot nicer to be shuttled in than one thing like an Escalade. I feel the U.S. has been overdue for a brand new van revolution, so this is hoping different manufacturers observe Mercedes’ lead.

Daniel Golson / Jalopnik

Daniel Golson / Jalopnik

Daniel Golson / Jalopnik

Daniel Golson / Jalopnik