While most of us may be tootling around in Leafs, MiEVs and Volts in the years to come, those won’t do for the upper crust. So Daimler AG has been working on a car for the one percent.

The result is the sleek Mercedes-Benz F125! concept, which Daimler describes as the S-Class of the future. Daimler says most concepts look ahead perhaps one vehicle generation, about 7-8 years, but the F 125! represents two generations, leaping to the world of 2025 and beyond.

“With the F 125! we want to show that large, comfortable and safe saloon cars (sedans) have an excellent future, partly because they are able to operate with no emissions. The legend that is the S-Class will continue into the future thanks to intelligent solutions that always have the customer’s needs in mind,” says Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber, head of Daimler’s Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development groups. “The new research vehicle illustrates and underlines this claim to leadership with innovative ideas and traditional Mercedes strengths in the areas of design, safety, comfort and performance.”

While it looks like a coupe, it’s actually a sedan with wide gull-wing doors that provide access to front and rear seating.

Introduced last at the Frankfort Auto Show fall to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Karl Benz’s patent on the automobile, Daimler has upgraded the telematics with some truly visionary ideas.

The F125! combines two technologies, hydrogen fuel cells and an induction-charged, high-density lithium-sulphur battery, to produce a unique, zero-mission plug-in hybrid with an estimated 621-mile range. Some of the technology is proven and some is experimental: Lithium-sulphur, enhanced lithium-ion and lithium-air batteries are among the storage alternatives being studied.

Power is delivered to the four motors, one on each of the 23-inch wheels, via Mercedes’ e4Matic all-wheel drive system that allows torque control at each wheel.

Daimler says the F 125! will go from zero to 62 miles per hour in 4.9 seconds, accelerate from 50 to 75 in 3.2 seconds and hit a top speed of about 136 miles per hour.

While Daimler has been testing fleets of fuel-cell vehicles for years, the F 125! makes use of a type of hydrogen storage system that is still in the research phase. Unlike conventional, and space-eating, cylindrical tanks, the F 125!’s reservoir tank is actually integrated into the body shell’s floor assembly with no loss in passenger or cargo volume while preserving the range of today’s diesel-powered S-Class.

“The structural integrated hydrogen composite unit of the F 125! represents a real technological revolution, as it allows the hydrogen tank to be fully integrated into the bodyshell structure for the first time. In the future, vehicles with emission-free fuel cell drive systems could achieve the operating ranges of current diesel models with no loss of interior space,” notes Professor Weber.

In fuel-cell mode, the F 125! gets the equivalent of 87.1 miles per gallon. The car can go about 30 miles on battery power alone.

Daimler engineers think battery technology will allow energy densities to double by the time the F 125! is ready for regular production.

The F 125! reduces weight through use of a composite body shell of glass-reinforced plastics combined with carbon-fiber material, aluminium and high-strength steels. The result is a lightweight body so strong that a B-pillar is not required. This allowed Daimler engineers to achieve a further weight reduction by the use of two gull-wing doors instead of the four separate doors on a more conventional sedan.

The common wisdom is that cars will be smaller in the future and so the F125! is no exception. It is ten inches shorter than the current S-Class sedan. However, engineers moved the F 125!’s wheels out closer to the corners resulting in a wheelbase that’s 6.6 inches longer than the S-Class, improving the ride and handling qualities.

The real news is the telematics. The complete array of current assistive technologies are onboard and Daimler engineers are working on new systems that come straight out of science-fiction: doors open with a wave of the hand; rear-seat passengers will be able to operate the infotainment system in the same way. Driver distraction is minimized by a system that allows the driver to operate controls via natural speech and hand gestures. In 2025, the owner of the F 125! or a similar production model will be able to enjoy a completely personalized information and entertainment program without any manual inputs. Should they exist by 2025, the F 125! will be able to operate on automated highways.

Now all that remains is making the small fortune that will be required to buy a production version of the F 125! The current S-Class models range from about $92,000 to about $159,000. Adjusting for inflation and the cost of living, the 2025 version should go for somewhere between $127,000 and $220,000.