First Sight: Mercedes Vision AMG signals electric road ahead for the performance brand
By Guy Bird2022-05-20T11:41:00
Mercedes-AMG’s newest concept Vision AMG is an attempt to prepare the brand’s current petrolhead fans for its fully-electric future. Car Design News was at the “no phones, no cameras” global media preview inside a secret location on the Côte d’Azur, south of France, as chief design officer Gorden Wagener personally pulled off the wraps of the fully-electric concept
First impressions of the Vision AMG relied on an exterior only – the concept has no interior – and indicate a strong side profile influence from the recent EQXX prototype shown earlier in 2022 and indeed the 2015 IAA concept too. All three designs major on aerodynamic efficiency and accordingly feature swoopy and long-tailed silhouettes. Where the Vision AMG differs from its conceptual forebears more obviously is at the front.
Its low front overhang appears longer than the EQXX’s and is framed by triple-bar headlamps arranged into twin three-pointed stars on each side, visually connected in-between via a horizontal band of light that can act variously as a welcome signature or constant light. Below that, where an open grille and front air intakes would conventionally sit, there is instead a vertically-arranged row of white LED strips against a solid body section. This creates graphic interest and also references the similarly aligned grille slats – or lamellas – that featured on the marque’s famous 1950s Pan Americana racing cars, as well as the sportier cars in its current AMG range.