Mercedes-Benz C111 returns as vision of electric supercars

Meanwhile, wide carbonfibre sills housed within the wheelbase and combined with wind-cheating ‘blade’ elements channel cooling air towards the motors at the rear.

Additional vents are incorporated behind the doors, as is a deep rear window.

The smooth surfacing of the car's body is combined with heavily rounded forms, including heavily swollen wheel arches which house 275/35-profile front and 315/30-profile 22in wheels, and the prominent curved side panels, which are integrated into the lengthy gullwing doors and lift high to provide easy access to the interior. 

The rear of the One-Eleven is dominated by a large spoiler that extends out to increase downforce. A pixelated section mirrors the look at the front, with an extravagant diffuser featuring lower down. 

Mercedes' chief design officer, Gorden Wagener, likened the arched silhouette of the 4600mm-long supercar to the one-bow design of the road-going EQE and EQS electric saloons.

“The element of surprise comes from its clean, purist and, at the same time, extremely muscular proportions,” he said.

Inside, the squabs of the two seats are integrated into the floor. The pedals, leather-bound F1-style steering wheel and seatbacks adjust to allow the driver to strike a suitable driving position not dissimilar to that in the F1-engined Mercedes-AMG One hypercar. 

The pixelated motif from the front and rear is incorporated into the dashboard’s brushed aluminium surround, while driver information is housed within a central touchscreen display that runs Mercedes' latest MBUX software and can be extended with augmented-reality functions.

The silver upholstery of the seats is combined with white fabric and orange leather to give the One-Eleven a distinctive colour combination. 

The compact housing of the electric motors at the rear also frees up space in the rear for a sizeable luggage shelf - hinting at the potential duality of future AMG EV flagships. 

Axial-flux motors are being developed for large-scale production by Mercedes and Yasa. As well as boasting superior power and torque density than existing radial-flux motors, they give major packaging advantages, due to their narrow design. 

Yasa says the weight of its axial-flux motor is just one-third of that of the radial-flux motors used by Mercedes in its current family of EQ EVs. 

Based in Oxford, Yasa has been a 100% subsidiary of Mercedes since 2021.

At the unveiling of the One-Eleven, Mercedes confirmed that axial-flux motors for future production cars will be manufactured at its Berlin-Marienfelde plant in Germany.