The car of the future? Mercedes-Benz unveils One-Eleven concept with gull-wing doors

More than 50 years after Mercedes-Benz debuted the bright orange C111 car, the company has drawn the curtains on a stunning reboot.

Dubbed the One-Eleven, the all-electric two-seater supercar looks like some kind of exotic beetle thanks to its striking orange-and-black exterior paintwork.

It also has an ultra-slim, aerodynamic body and gull-wing doors that open upwards on both sides – just like the DeLorean in the 1985 American sci-fi classic Back to the Future.

Inside the One-Eleven is a sci-fi inspired ‘lounge’ interior with two F1-style silver seats and a rectangular steering wheel, along with a pixelated dash, headliner and plenty of storage space.

One-Eleven is a reinterpretation of the C111, the experimental vehicle of the 1960s and 1970s, and has even been modified to work with an augmented reality (AR) headset to bring dashboard navigation elements to life.

The German car company says the concept car “depicts a seamless blend of muscular lines and elegant curves” and is “more akin to a sculptural work of art” with its “iconic, minimalist and smooth surface design.”

“This is beauty and the extraordinary united in one vision of the future,” says Gorden Wagener, car designer at the Mercedes-Benz Group.

“Our all-electric vision show car is the modern interpretation of the C 111, which was avant-garde at the time.

‘The element of surprise lies in the exceptionally pure, puristic and at the same time extremely muscular proportions.’

Mercedes-Benz seems to compare the One-Eleven to a living, breathing animal in its announcement, calling it “very dynamic” with a “low-slung front end” and “muscled hindquarters.”

Indeed, it looks like a brightly colored jungle creature ready to pounce thanks to the lowered front end, which measures only about 20 centimeters above the ground for better aerodynamics.

The acceleration and top speeds of the One-Eleven have yet to be confirmed, although the original C111 was said to reach a whopping 250 mph on a test track in 1979.

The whole One-Eleven is low, as its highest point only reaches 120cm, or just under four feet, although any drivers will need extra height on top of that if they don’t want the gull-wing doors hitting the ceiling once they’re open.

On the front and back of the car, where the number plates would go, is a series of “rectangular elements with rounded ends” – which the company says is a pixelated external screen that can display messages to other road users.

Rings of light encircle both rectangles – bright light for the headlights at the front and red taillights at the rear.

On the gull-wing doors are side windows that are opaque from the outside and camouflaged by a grainy pattern, but can be seen out from the inside.

But it’s really inside the car that it starts to feel even more futuristic, thanks to what Mercedes-Benz describes as ‘the first sports car interior with a lounge concept’.

Inside are two silver racing driver-style seats with orange armor, like something out of an arcade or an old NASA space shuttle from 50 years ago.

The two seats have cushions that fit flush with the floor, which the company says gives the first impression of the bucket seat in a Formula 1 racing car.

A retro-looking flat-pixel display that spans the entire width of the dashboard – echoing the design of the rectangles on the outside of the car – provides drivers with basic information such as current speed and time.

Meanwhile, the rectangular leather-wrapped steering wheel is equipped with four buttons, including the power button to start the engine and the button to activate the traction control system.

The steering wheel is complemented by a nearby touchscreen that faces the driver and shows other additional vehicle information, as well as the display for phone calls and music control.

Drivers can also wear an augmented reality headset to “become enriched with high-definition digital content contextually integrated into their environment.”

They can use the headset to view map instructions such as arrows and other navigation features to reach their destination.

Mercedes-Benz says: ‘It creates a seamless spatial mix of physical interior and digital user interface beyond the screen.

“Essentially, the whole car becomes the user interface.”

It’s unclear how this would work with safety regulations, although as this is just a concept car it’s fair to say Mercedes-Benz has one foot in the fictional world for now.

Mercedes-Benz is calling the new design a “study” because it’s not expected to go on sale, but it could be a glimpse into the kind of machines the company has in the works.

Another concept car that recently caught the eye was the color-changing BMW i Vision Dee, unveiled in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The body of the BMW i Vision Dee is equipped with microcapsules containing color pigments that are stimulated by means of an electric field, depending on the setting selected.

However, BMW told MailOnline that the car is just a prototype and it would not market it.