Mercedes-benz vision iconic brings over art deco style
Mercedes-Benz introduces Vision Iconic, a vehicle with Art Deco designs and a car paint as thin as a wafer that can harness solar power. Unveiled in Shanghai on October 14th, 2025, the automobile, especially its hood, draws design cues from the Mercedes-Benz Typ 540K Autobahn-Kurier, which was the company’s roadster from 1938 with an elongated front, ballooned wheel arches, large round headlights at the center, and a sloping-down roof to the rear. For the recent Vision Iconic, Mercedes-Benz brings over the style of Art Deco, at least to the interiors. Stepping inside the car, the centerpiece is the instrument panel shaped as a floating glass, named Zeppelin. Its design evokes the carefully placed lines and geometric shapes that define the decorative, artistic style. As soon as the door opens, the instrument clutter comes to life with an analog animation inspired by chronographs.
There’s a pillar-to-pillar screen on view, and at the center of it lies a clock shaped like the company’s iconic star logo, acting as an AI companion. Behind the Zeppelin, a decorative surface unfolds with a pearl look, and this marquetry also shows up around the door panels, encircling the polished brass door handles in silver and gold tones before reaching the star patterns that frame the rear seat. The seats at the front come through as a single bench in deep blue velvet. In front of the driver, the four-spoke steering wheel carries the Mercedes-Benz logo for the Vision Iconic, floating inside a glass sphere and clasped by the spokes as if it were a piece of jewelry. The interior floors are designed with straw marquetry, a decorative technique dating back to the 17th century and revived in the 1920s. The design team handcrafts the finish in a fan-shaped Art Deco motif, a continuation of the artistic style.
all images courtesy of Mercedes-Benz, unless stated otherwise
Car paint as thin as wafer can capture solar energy
A slew of innovations defines the recent Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic. At the unveiling designboom attended, the company highlights its solar coating, a paint similar to a paste that turns the surface of any electric vehicle into a photovoltaic-active exterior. This means that the entire outside of the vehicle can harness solar power, depending on the location and local conditions, and recharge itself to add additional driving range. The company says that the solar cells in the coating have a high efficiency of 20 percent and generate energy continuously, even when the vehicle is switched off and that the paint doesn’t have any rare earths or silicone and can be recycled easily.
Outside, the front section of the Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic uses a grille design that the team has already introduced to the 2025 electric SUV named GLC. It keeps the wide chrome frame seen in older models such as the W108, W111, and Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman, and inside the frame is a smoked-glass lattice structure with built-in contour lighting. The model also includes a Mercedes-Benz star on the hood, which now comes illuminated and with lighting animations (the illumination pattern can change depending on the car’s mode or environment). The headlights are thin and integrated into the body to continue the simple front layout, and the body surface uses a high-gloss black finish that matches the illuminated front parts. The grille’s structure adopts durable chrome-plated metal for the frame and reinforced glass panels with integrated LED modules.
project info:
name: Vision Iconic
company: Mercedes-Benz | @mercedesbenz
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