THE FULL STORY
vision
avtr
by Alexander Dang - Alex Dang - Lead Exterior Designer of the Mercedes Vision AVTR
official photoshop press renderings
artworks
welcome to a glimpse into the future
inspired by
The stunning Vision AVTR had its World Premiere at the CES 2020 in Las Vegas. The showcar was inspired by James Cameron’s movie ‚Avatar‘ and was a special collaboration between Mercedes-Benz and Disney, Lightstorm Entertainment.
let's approach the car
it recognizes you
About the process
design COMPETITION
I was happy and lucky to make it through the internal design competition at Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design. That made me responsible for the exterior design of the car, starting from the biggest gesture to the smallest details throughout the process until the end.
I struggle a bit to use the term „to win the competition“, because in the end, what counts is the result as a brand/team! In a way, every Designer could influence how things developed. This is a fact and gives a whole different perspective on the appreciation of the designer’s work.
official process and press sketches
artworks
About the concept
It's alive
Together with a highly talented and hardworking team, it was possible for us to create not just a normal car, but more a living object – that recognizes you as a driver.
Motion design and bioluminescence were intriguing visual aspects from the movie, that we combined with our technology and implemented to our vision.
Check out, how Supercar Blondie is reacting!
inhale the philosophy
how it started
We started off by watching the Avatar movie in the cinema to get into the mood! As a Designer I instantly was inspired by the various shapes and colors that Pandora’s nature and creature offered. I took out my sketchbook and did some first doodles of the woodsprites!
After diving deeper into the movie, more and more I understood the key message that James Cameron’s movie communicated: sustainability and a life in harmony with nature.
from start to finish
timeframe
It took us about 2 years from the first sketches over to 3D models, 3D-printed scale-model, interior and exterior mockups, UI/UX prototyps, then to full-scale clay model and after all to the final driveable car.
inside out
So we went to the drawing board! Like in Avatar, everything is connected with each other, from the inside to the outside:
For this project, this was manifested not just in the result, but also in our holistic design approach, where the Exterior Designers from every Advanced Design Studio, Interior Designers from Nice and UI/UX Designers from Germany were strongly influencing each other to create a powerful synergy.. Check the exclusive behind the scenes Youtube video!
making of
CES 2020 in LAS VEGAS, january 6th
WORLD PREMIERE 2020
The biggest moment in my career was seeing our Vision AVTR at the World Premiere in Las Vegas at the CES 2020 together with my colleagues. Next to the model you could see James Cameron, Jon Landau and Ola Kaellenius and Gorden Wagener.
And right there on screen they showed my published Artworks. That time – even though I couldn’t yet really believe what was truly happening – I felt that all the hard work finally paid off! I was proud of the accomplishment of the whole team and grateful how damn lucky I was to be part of this successful showcar and unique kind of collaboration with Hollywood!
Pictures © Mercedes-Benz Mediathek, Instagram @mercedesbenz
See more pictures from the World Premiere at CES 2020 in Las Vegas
credits
THANK You
This project was one of my biggest challenges and I can’t express enough how important teamwork is!
Thank you all for the support and encouragement, especially in harder times during this big adventure!
