For an automaker as old as Mercedes-Benz, it can be a design challenge to balance celebrating the company's heritage with creating something new and fresh. Mercedes is currently reinventing itself for an electric future, and after a stylistic false start with the blob-like EQE and EQS, the brand is taking a more traditional approach with its latest EVs, such as the new electric GLC SUV. Now Mercedes has unveiled the Vision Iconic, a statement for the company's design direction that draws inspiration from the brand's storied past while gazing into the crystal ball.
Sinister, Decadent Design
The Vision Iconic looks like the sort of car that might've been driven by Cruella de Vil, seemingly influenced by 1930s Mercedes-Benz models like the SSK and 500K. The proportions are spectacular and imposing, with a hood the length of a football field, a gracefully sloping roofline, a blunt front end, and ginormous wheels.
Up front, you'll notice the new electric Mercedes family grille in all of its illuminated glory. Just as on the electric GLC, the grille's chrome border surrounds hundreds of tiny square lights, each sitting on a panel that is separated by ribs branching off of a lit-up spine. The Vision Iconic takes it a step further, illuminating the Mercedes three-pointed-star hood ornament that sits proudly atop the nose.
The headlights mirror that three-pointed star motif, sitting inside a slim, pointed housing with vertical slats. This lighting cue is already popping up in production Mercedes models, including the new GLC EV, CLA-class, and upcoming Mercedes-Benz S-class refresh. A pair of curved vents lives just ahead of the doors, and the only other decorations along the lengthy flanks are a chrome strip on the side sill and a shiny border to the gun-slit windows. The rear end takes more cues from the 300 SL of the 1950s, with simple LED taillights capping off the curvaceous bodywork.
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