The automotive industry has ushered in tremendous changes in the past few years, and full electrification has become the "unified slogan" of various car companies. As a veteran car company with a heritage of more than a hundred years, Mercedes-Benz did not start early on the road of electrification transformation, but the action was quite rapid. Since 2019, when EQC launched the first hit of the Mercedes-Benz EQ brand mass production of electric vehicles, Mercedes-Benz is laying out the EQ electric vehicle family at an extremely fast speed. From the family car series to the performance car AMG series, it will usher in full electrification. Mercedes-Benz has previously announced that from 2025, it will gradually stop investing in the development of internal combustion engine technology, and the new models launched thereafter will be pure electric models.
At the end of 2021, Mercedes-Benz announced to the outside world that a mysterious model called VISION EQXX will be released, which belongs to the Mercedes-Benz EQ electric vehicle family, but has a "XX" name that represents the future. Mercedes-Benz announced that this new car will show the future of Mercedes-Benz, a century-old car brand, and with the goal of mass production, use new technological upgrades to redefine the future travel era depicted by Mercedes-Benz. At the beginning of the 2022 new year, Mercedes-Benz took the lead in a big move, on the eve of the opening of the CES exhibition, Mercedes-Benz's new pure electric concept car VISION EQXX officially debuted in the world.
For Mercedes-Benz, the "all in" electric car is already a nail in the coffin, and the rapid unveiling of the model after the trailer also shows its emphasis on its own transformation. So as a representative of luxury brands in the traditional automobile field, what will the future direction of Mercedes-Benz look like? What innovative technologies does the VISION EQXX Concept car demonstrate? Can Mercedes-Benz lead the times in this important period of transformation? Che Yun fungus to explain to you today's world premiere: Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX concept car.
The appearance is retro and sci-fi seems to have crossed over
The shape of the Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX is different from the existing Mercedes-Benz models, the low front and closed grille create a very avant-garde visual effect, the integration of the through-type light strip and the two sides of the light group is very strong, the light group also adopts the outline of the three-pronged star emblem shape inside, echoing the pattern on the middle net and the Mercedes-Benz LOGO, and the front surround bottom is embellished with rose gold trim.
The side is the biggest highlight of the new car, the design of the Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX is inspired by the Concept IAA, the IAA concept car released by Mercedes-Benz in 2015, and the roof shape flows gracefully like a water droplet to the rear. In addition, in terms of body shape, the towering fenders, steep front windshield, round and upward-retracting roof and strong shoulder line all give the EQXX an elegant atmosphere, reminiscent of Mercedes-Benz's classic 300SL gull-wing sports car, a bit of a tribute to the classic model.
The vehicle's impressive length of light strip blends perfectly with the tail contour, with the "VISION EQXX" logo at the centre, and the exaggerated rear surround below further enhances aerodynamic performance and adds a sporty atmosphere. Another highlight is the retractable rear diffuser, which reduces wind resistance at high speeds and integrates with the body when retracted. It is worth mentioning that after the combination of body shapes, diffusers, and even tri-fork star logos in the form of stickers, the vehicle resistance coefficient of the Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX dropped below 0.17, claiming to be the lowest wind resistance ever.
Overall, the appearance of the Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX is very sci-fi, and at the same time, it has a certain retro taste in the body shape, which looks like a sci-fi chariot driving out of a cross-over movie. Gordon Wagener, chief designer of Mercedes-Benz, said that the 2800 mm wheelbase EQXX is one level smaller than the EQE being tested recently, which also means that the VISION EQXX concept car may become the next generation of C-class models.
The interior immersive experience is upgraded again, and the new model or return to the horizontal screen
The interior design of Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX also reveals an extremely pure design style, unlike the interior of the general concept car that only stays in the concept stage, the interior design of the new car seems to be closer to reality, and the very clear interior elements and configurations also give people a glimpse of what the future Mercedes-Benz new car looks like.
The first thing that catches the eye in the car is a completely seamless 47.5-inch ultra-thin all-in-one screen, with a resolution of 7680 * 660 pixels (8K), the visual effect is very shocking, not only the introduction of the game engine and the full optimization of the user interface, but also the joint development of the first 3D real-time navigation system compatible with this size of the screen, in the 3D city view can enlarge the satellite screen to 10 meters height, the look and feel is very outstanding. The central control area is mainly focused on the giant screen that spans the entire carriage, and there are no extra buttons, and the overall atmosphere is calm and concise.
This huge horizontal screen covers many functions such as dashboard, multimedia navigation and co-driver display, and the on-demand partition backlight composed of 3,000 LEDs can be automatically extinguished in areas that do not need to be lit to greatly reduce power consumption. In terms of voice control technology, Mercedes-Benz has cooperated with artificial intelligence companies to apply it through the Akida neuromorphic system-level chip. On the new generation of car machines, the wake-up speed of "Hello, Mercedes-Benz" will be 5-10 times faster than the current one, and it is expected to be widely used in the next few years, making on-board voice control more practical.
In addition, while retaining luxury and technology, the new car also plays a role in environmental protection, its door handles are made of biodegradable pure plant silk, some leather and seats are made of cactus raw materials and mycelium, the carpet is woven with 100% bamboo fiber, and the material of the imitation fur surface in the carriage is made of recycled PET plastic bottles. As can be seen from the pictures, the Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX also adopts the four-seat layout common to top luxury models, with the aim of bringing a more distinguished riding experience.
Thousands of kilometers of cruising is the biggest highlight
Many F1 technologies are used in the Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX, such as a pure electric chassis with a lightweight F1 subframe, and the lightweight design makes the vehicle weigh only 1750kg. In addition, the concept car uses Bridgestone's Tuanza Eco tires, which combine lightweight and environmentally friendly ENLITEN and Ologic technologies to achieve ultra-low rolling resistance. The tires feature aerodynamically optimised sidewalls paired with 20-inch lightweight magnesium alloy forged rims, which are also closed in the typical electric model.
The electric drive system is based on the power unit in the Mercedes-AMG Project ONE supercar and has a maximum power of up to 204 horsepower (150 kW). The battery pack of the VISION EQXX Concept has nearly 100 kWh of energy, but it is 50% smaller in size and 30% lighter (total weight is about 495 kg) compared to the new EQS's battery pack. Not only has the size and weight been reduced across the board, but the new battery pack has achieved an astonishing energy density of nearly 400 Wh/L through the development of Formula 1 racing cars and professional mechanical design, and has achieved an energy efficiency of 95%. The energy consumption of 100 kilometers is less than 10 kWh, which also makes its single charge range more than 1000 kilometers.
Although the biggest highlight is the endurance of more than 1000 kilometers, its essence comes from the advanced battery and ultra-high energy efficiency. This set of battery packs newly developed for EQXX adopts technology similar to Cell to Pack, the battery cell is provided by the Ningde era, directly "sticking" the battery cell to the battery bottom shell, coupled with the cancellation of the complicated liquid cooling structure, the use of a heat exhaust plate in the bottom of the car for heat dissipation. This achieves an energy volume density of 400 Wh/L. It is also worth mentioning that the ultra-thin solar panels on the roof can provide an additional cruising range of 25 kilometers for the battery system.
More details and technical highlights outline the future direction of Mercedes-Benz
The Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX, which plays aerodynamics to the extreme, is also very detailed in detail. Since the daily waste heat generated by electric vehicles is very small, most of the time the active air intake grille is closed, and the drivetrain is dissipated by the heat dissipation plate arranged on the chassis. The active intake grille opens only when there is a high heat dissipation requirement, and air is discharged through the opening in the front cover and flows backwards, avoiding excess driving resistance due to "clogging" of the front air. The air resistance coefficient after the active grille is opened only by Cd 0.007, which is also expected to become a very practical and efficient thermal management method on the mass production car.
Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX does not use the electronic rearview mirror gimmicks commonly found in many concept cars, but uses two traditional independent rearview mirrors mounted on the door, which is also more in line with the aesthetic taste of the public, and also makes Che Yun feel that this car seems to be one step closer to the mass production version. At the same time, the door handle follows the automatic telescopic door handle on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and the retractable design during driving can also reduce the disturbance of the air on the side of the car during the ride.
As mentioned earlier, the Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX shows not only the concept car itself, but also the demonstration of the future direction in terms of components. In the parts display area at the press conference, Mercedes-Benz exhibited the prototype of the next generation of parts, and the lighter aluminum alloy brake discs can not only effectively reduce the quality under the spring, but also reduce the brake dust. The fiberglass springs developed in collaboration with the University of Darmstadt and Rheinmetall are expected to replace traditional coil springs and provide excellent spring characteristics while reducing weight.
As a pure electric model, the optimization of winter endurance performance is also a top priority. EQXX, on the other hand, demonstrated the latest technological solutions that rely on multi-source heat pumps to absorb heat not only from the surrounding environment, but also from the cooling circuit of the drive system. In order to maximize the recovery of each part of heat, the heat pump will also use "evaporative enthalpy" technology when dehumidifying to collect the latent heat released when the water vapor in the air is liquefied, and minimize the energy consumption of the air conditioning system.
In addition, at the press conference, there were innovative functions that can be achieved by the new ultra-widescreen system, and the introduction of new body structures and materials, which can be said to be a lot of details and a high technical content. Through the release of the VISION EQXX concept car, Mercedes-Benz has shown you a lot of future technologies and application directions at one time. Its significance is far more than the concept car itself, almost a comprehensive inventory and demonstration of the future direction of Mercedes-Benz, we can also get a glimpse of the basic appearance of the future Mercedes-Benz brand pure electric models.
The unveiling of the Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX concept car reminds Che Yunmei of the previously released Mercedes-Benz VISION AVTR concept car. Although it also shows the Mercedes-Benz brand's thinking about future travel, compared with VISION AVTR, the VISION EQXX unveiled today is obviously much more practical, closer to the mass production car, and on the basis of the advanced design concept, it integrates the ideas and efforts of Mercedes-Benz in luxury, technology, environmental protection and energy consumption.
But unlike the traditional concept car, the purpose of the Mercedes-Benz EQXX is to show the world the technology, materials and design that the brand can really apply to future models. In addition to the F1 racing technology that claims to have been introduced in large quantities, it also includes the use of sustainable environmentally friendly materials, record-breaking ultra-low wind resistance coefficient, single-charge endurance that claims to exceed 1000km, and sustainable bionic technology, which are more practical highlights than those wild gimmicks.
Che Yun summary
Unlike the concept car based on "gimmicks" in the past, in the era of electrification, the VISION EQXX produced by Mercedes-Benz is a concept car that can really show its strength and can walk. In addition to previewing the basic appearance of the next generation of Mercedes-Benz models, a large number of technical details and future directions were also displayed through this conference. This is a big step for Mercedes-Benz, but also a leap forward in electric vehicle products, perhaps not long, the most established luxury brand, will once again lead the era in the field of electric vehicles.