The Mercedes-Benz AVTR (advance vision transportation) is inspired by Avatar. Even the name is a nod towards the movie. The show car is an EV and can drive forwards and sideways. The vehicles is a rolling light show with displays that spread out beyond the dash. the vehicle has no doors and is supposed to get the driver closer to nature.

Interacting with the car is different from anything else. While driving, the driver lifts their hand and the interface appears on their body. The interface then follows your hand as your making selections. The vehicle also has a bunch of gesture controls that are supposed to be more natural and don’t require the driver to learn new hand signals.

During the event, Mercedes spoke at length about the car is almost a living thing and an extension of a person and nature. It’s really a lot of hyperbole, but it doesn’t take away from the design which is completely bonkers but also stunning.

The vehicle uses biometrics sensors to better bond with the driver. Sort of creepy, but it’s a concept car so it’s unlikely your next S Class will want to merge with you.

One of the weirdest looking “features” is the on the rear hatch that has these circular hatches that open and close. There are supposed supply energy to the vehicle. Maybe via the wind. Maybe they are photovoltaic? Maybe it’s magic. More likely it’s just a fun thing to add to a concept car.

The head of Mercedes-Benz, Ola Källenius also spoke at length about the automaker’s plan to create a zero-impact car. “This may be in the distance but it’s our goal nonetheless,” he said. It’s that goal that got James Cameron on board.

Director James Cameron said that a car wasn’t obvious when first pitched to him. But after talking to Källenius about the company’s vision for sustainability, he was all for it. “It was a total life-cycle assessment,” Cameron said. He added that he’s now all about sustainability.

“When I look at this car here, I see a beautiful car,” Cameron said. “I see the physical manifestation of an idea.”

“We got to make the beautiful machine a sustainable beautiful machine,” Källenius said.

Developing