World's coolest concept car is the Mercedes AVTR that 'breathes' and isn't driven using a steering wheel
Published on Jul 28, 2025 at 8:54 AM (UTC-4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Jul 28, 2025 at 1:18 PM (UTC-4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
This is the incredible Mercedes AVTR that ‘breathes’ and isn’t driven using a regular steering wheel.
Supercar Blondie presenter Sergi Galiano was able to get a look at the incredible concept and experience what it was that made it one of the coolest concept cars in the world.
From its center console to its bionic flaps that ‘breathe’, it’s got a lot going for it.
Mercedes has produced many concept cars over the years, but this one takes design to a whole new level.
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360° Driving: Inside the Spherical-Wheel Experience
One of the first things you notice when you step inside the car, which Alex Hirschi also got a chance to drive, is its spherical-wheel experience.
Sergi discovered there was no steering wheel, or even conventional pedals.
The controls of the car are handled via a spherical wheel on the center console.
To use it, you place your hand on the controls and gently move around the sphere, and by doing this, you can even get the car to ‘crab-walk’.
You tilt the controls around to move the car, almost like an aircraft control column.
Watching Sergi use the controls like this feels almost dystopian, yet it seems to work so well.
This isn’t the only amazing feature about the car.
The Mercedes AVTR has bionic flaps that breathe
Perhaps the most unusual part of the car is its ‘living design’.
The Mercedes has bionic flaps that look like the scales of a fish, and they are on the rear of the car.
These ‘breathe’ by opening and closing as you drive the AVTR.
During braking, acceleration, and turning, they also change color depending on what the car is doing.
They give the car the impression it is truly alive, rather than being just a machine to ferry us around in.
If that wasn’t enough, the car also reads your mood as you drive along.
The Mercedes scans the heartbeat of the driver, and adapts the lighting to mimic the mood it thinks you are in.
Concept cars in general can be wild and wacky designs.
But with the Mercedes AVTR, we might have found one that is truly unbeatable.
Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a heritage steam railway.
