Marking the launch of a new, super-purist design style, the VISION EQXX represents a new expression of efficiency in interior design. In a departure from the conventional design approach, the interior layout focuses on just a few modules and the beautiful simplicity of lightweight design. This is expressed through the absence of complex shapes and the integration of lightweight structures into the interior aesthetic in a wholly organic way, making traditional trim elements superfluous.
Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX, interior
From mushrooms to vegan silk, nature’s influence continues when we step inside the VISION EQXX. The lightweight luxury feel of the interior comes from extensive use of lightweight, sustainable materials and organic-inspired design detailing. The basic principle is maximum comfort and style with minimum weight – and absolutely no animal-derived products.
Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX
The interior features a large number of innovative materials sourced from start-ups around the world. For example, the door pulls are made from AMsilk’s Biosteel® fibre. This high-strength, biotechnology-based and certified-vegan silk-like fabric comes from the inventor of biofabricated (nature-identical) fibre. Combining revolutionary science with true environmental integrity, its use here marks a first in the automotive sector.
Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXXMercedes-Benz VISION EQXX, Interieur
Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX, interior
Another sustainable material gracing the interior of the VISION EQXX is MyloTM, a verified vegan leather alternative made from mycelium, which is the underground rootlike structure of mushrooms. It is certified bio-based, which means it is made predominantly from renewable ingredients found in nature. This completely new material category created by the power of biotechnology is designed to be less harmful to the environment and is used for details of the seat cushions in the VISION EQXX.
Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX
The animal-free leather alternative called Deserttex® is a sustainable cactus-based biomaterial made from pulverised cactus fibres combined with a sustainable bio-based polyurethane matrix. In this combination, the leather alternative has an exceptionally supple finish that is extremely soft to the touch. Forthcoming versions have a higher cactus content, giving this material the potential to halve the ecological footprint associated with conventional artificial leathers.
Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX
On the floor, the carpets in the VISION EQXX are made from 100% bamboo fibre. In addition to being fast-growing and renewable, this natural raw material offers an extremely luxurious look and feel. Mercedes-Benz chose these sustainable, innovative, high-performance materials because they, and others like them, have the potential to replace all sorts of petroleum- and animal-based products currently used in automotive applications. Together, they show a way forward for luxury design that conserves resources and is in balance with nature.
Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX
Elsewhere, the VISION EQXX makes extensive use of recycled waste materials, such as the recycled PET bottles used in a shimmering textile to enhance the floor area and door trim. Higher up in the interior, the designers used DINAMICA® made from 38% recycled PET to create a wrap-around effect linking the upper edge of the one-piece screen with the doors and headliner. The interior also features UBQ material, a sustainable plastic substitute made from household and municipal landfill waste.
“Working with these innovative, sustainable materials to design the interior of the VISION EQXX was a hugely liberating and exhilarating experience,” says Gorden Wagener. “They open up completely new avenues of creativity, and the visual and tactile finishes are exquisite. The upscale feel of the interior through the use of ambient lighting as well as silver, rose-gold and gloss black accents is a highly progressive interpretation of modern luxury for the all-electric era.”
