Long gone are the days when celebrities would use anything as brash and obvious as a stretch limo to be shuttled off to an awards do. These days, even the traditional Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7 Series and Audi A8 are a bit… obvious. No, the modern-day chariot of choice for the great and the good for actors, pop stars and the like tends to be a blacked-out Mercedes van.
On the outside, they look like, well, a blacked-out Mercedes van. On the inside, though, they’re essentially wheeled Gulfstream jets, with glitzy interiors filled with everything your typical sleb could possibly want as they crawl through Knightsbridge traffic or down Sunset Boulevard.
Mercedes Vision V – rear
Mercedes clearly knows this, because it’s just shown off the Vision V concept, a futuristic take on these ultra-luxe vans with a very PR-friendly electric powertrain.
The fact it’s an EV, and that it previews the products that’ll sit on Merc’s upcoming bespoke VAN.EA electric van architecture, are all we know about the Vision V’s hypothetical tech specs, because really, this thing’s all about the people in the back.
Mercedes Vision V – rear compartment
A sliding door grants access to a sci-fi lounge setting with just two seats, each with enough legroom to accommodate even the very lankiest of basketball players. It’s shut off from the driver’s area by way of a glass partition that can be switched between transparent and opaque at the touch of a button.
Those seats are trimmed in pristine white Nappa leather and white silk and made up of individual tubular cushions. Completing the surroundings are lashings of open-pore burr wood, including for the obligatory drinks cabinet, which definitely seems like a great idea when combined with a moving vehicle and lots of gleaming white trim. There’s mood lighting everywhere you look, and even a fragrance bottle to stop the VIPs from having to smell anything unpleasant.
Mercedes Vision V – rear compartment
The interior’s party piece, though, is the 65-inch cinema screen that rises up from the floor. Augmented by a 42-speaker Dolby Atmos surround sound system, it can be used for watching TV, gaming, online shopping, as a monitor for remote working or even, yes, as a karaoke machine. Should come in handy for the pop stars of the world.
The person relegated to actually doing the driving isn’t exactly getting a raw deal – they’ve got a similarly plush cabin, complete with wall-to-wall digital displays. Plus, that glass partition means they won’t have to listen to the karaoke session going on in the back.
Mercedes Vision V – front compartment
The Vision V, with its enormous wraparound rear lightbar and rather imposing front grille, is just a concept, but it does apparently give a glimpse at what we can expect from the first production vans on the VAN.EA platform, arriving next year. Don’t be too surprised to see the outside of the Grammys absolutely crawling with similar-looking vans in a couple of years’ time, then.
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