Mercedes Benz's vision of the future

If you've been in the car industry for 125 years and had some success, you might become complacent and put your feet up. Not if you're Mercedes. The Stuttgart carmaker is looking forward to the next 125 years with visionary concepts like this, the F 125! research vehicle, which was revealed in Frankfurt recently. It's a hybrid, but of a different kind. As opposed to the usual petrol-electric types, this one is powered by hydrogen and a lightweight yet high-voltage 10kWh lithium-sulphur battery. Mercedes claims that the fuel-cell drive system, combined with the battery, will give the F 125! a range of 1,000km, of which up to 50km will be on battery-electric power alone when it hopefully goes on sale in 2025. The body is a mix of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastics, aluminium and high-strength steel. The F 125! is controlled by "touch, speech and hand-gestures" meaning closing those gullwing doors will not be a stretch, just a wave of your hand.