Mercedes Finally Made Its Big, Illuminated Grille Look Good

The Vision Iconic concept represents a new design era for the automaker.

Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic Concept

Photo by: Mercedes-Benz

Anthony Alaniz

By: Anthony Alaniz

Oct 14, 2025 at 4:00am ET

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Love it or hate it, the pixelated grille Mercedes-Benz introduced on the new GLC isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. As a matter of fact, even more Mercedes models are expected to have big, bright grilles over the next few years. But unlike the GLC, this new Vision Iconic concept wears the new look well—very well.

The Vision Iconic's grille is a reinterpretation and homage to the brand’s past radiator grilles. Here, though, it uses a chrome frame, smoked glass lattice, and contour lighting that looks still sort of gaudy, but is far more luxurious than the GLC’s jumbo grille, at least.

The rest of the concept looks like something Cruella de Vil would drive. It body bears a striking resemblance to the 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Autobahn Kurier. The iconic 300SL, meanwhile, influenced the rear, while Mercedes used the W108, W111, and 600 Pullman as inspiration for the grille.

Inside, the art-deco influence continues with a floating glass structure for the dash, which Mercedes calls the Zeppelin, an elegant four-spoke steering wheel, and an AI companion. There’s blue velvet on the bench seat and blue straw marquetry for the floor, a 17th-century decorative technique that saw a revival in the 1920s.

Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic

Photo by: Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes doesn’t provide any specific powertrain details, but the concept is electric, and it does have a steer-by-wire system. The car features solar paint that can add range from the sun. According to the company, this paint on a mid-size SUV could generate enough energy to add up to 7,450 miles of range per year in ideal conditions. It also gives the coupe a sinister appearance.

The Vision Iconic also features neuromorphic computing. It’s a computing architecture designed to function like a human brain, enabling faster and more efficient AI calculations. Mercedes says it could use the processing power for better traffic sign recognition, identifying other cars, and reducing the energy requirements for automated driving.

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The Vision Iconic has Level 4 autonomy and automated parking capabilities, allowing occupants to relax during the journey. It also "gives its customers back time" because the driver doesn’t have to worry about parking the car.

The car is currently just a concept, but we’ll likely see the grille in various styles and other design cues on future Mercedes models, like the coming S-Class EV. We hope the Vision Iconic becomes a production model, but we doubt a large electric coupe will have mass appeal. Maybe a V-8 would change that.

Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic

Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic Concept

Source: Mercedes-Benz