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I Test Drove the Mercedes Avatar Concept Vehicle of the Future

It felt more like playing with a pet dragon than driving a car.

The Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR was designed in partnership between Mercedes-Benz and Lightstorm Entertainment, the production company James Cameron founded in 1990.

The Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR was designed in partnership between Mercedes-Benz and Lightstorm Entertainment, the production company James Cameron founded in 1990.

Photographer: Robin Trajano

Despite its name and the Avatar-related marketing campaign behind it, the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR is not actually in Avatar: The Way of Water. (That’s James Cameron’s Avatar sequel set underwater, which opens in theaters on Dec. 16.) 

First released as a thought experiment at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2020, Vision AVTR rolls on four oversized wheels that look like cartoon donuts. Its dual ovoid doors, which double as large side windows, are not what you’d call “seaworthy.”