Hydrogen-powered Mercedes-Benz F125 Shows Future of Sustainable Luxury

The automotive world is in crisis right now. Everyone knows that gasoline is expensive and may not be affordable available for another century. Automakers are scrambling to find an alternative whether that means much smaller engines, hybrids, electric motors or hydrogen no one really knows.

The Mercedes F125 is meant as a celebration and a revelation. It celebrates the 125 year history of Mercedes-Benz while looking forward to its future luxury vehicles.

The F125 is a hybrid but not in the traditional sense. It has a hyrogen-powered engine and uses state-of-the-art lithium-sulphur batteries to store power. The car has a 1000km range and is 100% emissions free. Unlike any other vehicle, the hydrogen tanks are not cylindrical, which means that they can be built into the floor. The lithium-sulphur batteries are capable of roughly twice the power storage of today's batteries and are stored behind the rear seats and can power the vehicle exclusively under electric power for 50km.

To power the wheels, the F125 uses the same e4MATIC system as the SLS AMG E-cell that mounts individual electric motors in the wheel hubs. The car makes 231hp and is capable of getting to 100km/h in 4.9 seconds. It consumes 0.79kg of hydrogen per 100km, which is the equivalent of 2.7 liters of diesel.

It also uses new lightweight materials like carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), regular carbon-fiber, aluminum and high-strength steel. Mercedes thinks that it could have these technologies ready for mass production by 2025.

The is not just meant as a sustainable vehicle, it is also supposed to be the future of Mercedes luxury. The total system is called “@yourCOMAND” (sic). Natural Handling allows drivers to select what functions they want while driving by queuing things like weather and traffic reports. Seamless Experience allows drivers to connect to a cloud-based drive and access their own media. Sensory Perfection incorporates high resolution, 3D screens with 3D hand tracking to control the vehicle's functions. To help with driving it also uses advanced driving assist that allows for the vehicle to make lane changes automatically.

The F125 is meant as an experimental platform. The technologies are meant to be showpieces about what could be possible in the future.