“Where do we take it from here?” Ola Källenius, chairman of Mercedes-Benz Group and Mercedes-Benz AG asked in his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. His answer: a global partnership between Mercedes-Benz and the makers of the Avatar films. This collaboration marks the next phase in carbon-neutral vehicle production as we stress the critical need for a sustainable future.

Born of this unprecedented partnership comes the Mercedes-Benz VISION AVTR — “Advanced Vehicle Transformation” — the concept vehicle that redefines what’s possible. Inspired by Avatar, the VISION AVTR embodies completely new interactions between human, machine and nature, a visionary outlook for automotive dreams to come.

Mirroring the fictional Na’vi way of living in harmony with nature, the VISION AVTR was designed to run sustainably using zero emissions, while reconnecting us to the world around us. Its holistic system performs independently of fossil resources, using graphene-based organic cell technology free of rare and toxic elements. And its impressive power allows this vehicle to travel with an impressive 435-mile range, while the conducting charging technology brings a full charge in just 15 minutes. The components of this organic battery are compostable and recyclable, highlighting the relevance of a future circular economy.

Breathing life into machine, our designers created intuitive interactions as never before imagined. The experience immerses you in a symbiosis of driver and natural surroundings, merging human with machine. The curved display module reveals real-time 3D graphics of natural wonders: the Huangshan mountain range of China, the 379-foot tall Hyperion Tree of California and the Pink Lake Hillier of Australia, illustrating forces of nature not visible to the human eye such as bioenergy, magnetic fields and ultraviolet light.

Immersing the senses in revolutionary design, the VISION AVTR delivers a bold statement of progressive luxury. The dynamic interior contours and light strips take on elements of nature. Without button or switch, the functions of the vehicle project onto the body or hand of the driver for a seamless merging of minds. Meanwhile, the center console — symbolizing the Tree of Souls in the Avatar film — extends to create a roof structure of transparent surfaces, colors and hologram effects. Further interweaving the elements, portions of the interior were created with color-changing fabrics, offering an interplay with the natural light.  

Truly a sculpture to behold, the exterior is a tangible dialogue between luxury and sustainability. The stretched “One Bow” design exhibits a loop structure that furthers the Na’vi inspiration, while fiber optics pulsate through the vehicle like neural pathways, creating energy flow into the tires. Each wheel was engineered to drive independently, allowing a rotation of up to 30 degrees for a sideways crab-like movement. Most impressively, the 33 multi-directional moveable surface elements, or “bionic flaps,” interact in an otherworldly approach to allow communication between the outside world and the driver.

The awe-inspiring Mercedes-Benz VISION AVTR concept car made its world premiere on January 6, 2020 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.