Mercedes-Benz's Latest Concept Is the Raddest EV Hot Rod You've Ever Seen
When you think of old-school hot rod style, you probably don't think about Mercedes-Benz. But the automaker's latest concept car is chock full of vintage speed style. Meet the Vision Mercedes Simplex, an electric concept inspired by the first car to wear the Mercedes name—one that's simply dripping in cool.
The Vision Mercedes Simplex takes its inspiration from the Mercedes 35 PS, a 1901 race car built by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft. The revolutionary race car was designed based on suggestions by Emil Jellinek, a German-born entrepreneur who found great success importing and selling Daimler vehicles in Nice, in the South of France. Jellinek specified a long-wheelbase, wide-track design with the engine mounted low to give a more favorable weight balance. The vehicle that resulted, the Mercedes 35 PS, was named for Jellinek's daughter, Mercedes, and for the 35-PS (roughly 35-horsepower) Daimler engine that powered it.
With Jellinek at the wheel, the revolutionary vehicle took victory at a number of races. Daimler's sales skyrocketed, and the automaker decided to brand all its vehicles with the Mercedes name. (Jellinek, too, sought to capture some of the shine of the newly-minted brand, legally changing his name to Emil Jellinek-Mercedes.)
The Mercedes 35 PS set the new standard for automobile design. Unlike the tall, ungainly motorized carriages that preceded it, the 35 PS mounted its honeycomb radiator in front of the engine, which itself sat longitudinally-oriented between the front wheels, low in the chassis. It's a precedent that carries on in many of today's modern vehicles.
The Vision Mercedes Simplex updates this seminal design for a new electric era of the automobile. The concept mimics the 35 PS's upright radiator grille, its open cockpit, and the way its wheels occupy the four corners of its footprint. The drastic color palette—bright white in front, stark black from the dashboard rearward—pays homage to the 35 PS, while the gorgeous blue upholstery nods to Côte d'Azur, the seaside town in the South of France where Jellinek found his racing success—and where Mercedes-Benz's new Advanced Design Centre has just opened its doors.
Of course, with its narrow body, open cockpit and upright proportions, the Vision Mercedes Simplex's resemblance to a post-WWII hot rod is undeniable.
Being an EV, this concept can get away with things that couldn't be accomplished with a conventional vehicle. The giant wheels have stationary center sections, with the tire itself being driven by a bevel gear. The dashboard defines minimalism, with as few switches as possible and the required information delivered to the driver by projection. The steering wheel and bottom-hinged accelerator and brake pedals spring from a single unit.
It's a pie-in-the-sky fantasy machine, for now, but the Vision Mercedes Simplex shows what could potentially be achieved in a clean-sheet EV design that harkens back to the early days of motorsports while embracing the possibilities of a vehicle unburdened by internal combustion. We can't wait to see what other ideas Mercedes cooks up in this vein.
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