Cactus Seats and 620 Miles of Range? Mercedes-Benz EQXX Hops on Lucid & Tesla’s Post-luxury EV Bandwagon
- The Mercedes-Benz EQXX concept is post-luxury incarnate
- Post-luxury might just be “Keeping Up With The Joneses”
- Mercedes follows in the minimalist foosteps of Lucid and Telsa
In case you haven’t heard, there’s already a new Mercedes-Benz EV on the way. No, it’s not the EQS EV, or the EQB SUV, or the EQC compact sedan. Instead, it’s a brand new concept car that leans into a concept we poors may not be familiar with: post-luxury. Basically, old-school bougie is out, and post-luxury is in. And the Mercedes-Benz EQXX concept is the latest post-luxury wonder.
The Mercedes-Benz EQXX has Formula 1 tech and 600+ miles of range
But more on the idea of post-luxury in a moment. Let’s get up to speed on the Mercedes-Benz EQXX concept car. First, the highlights. Merc says that when this concept eventually hits the road, it’ll be capable of more than 600 miles, or 1,000 km of range. That’s largely down to a super-slick 0.17 drag coefficient and the next generation of high-density, low-weight EV batteries.
Then there’s the interior. The guts of the Mercedes-Benz EQXX concept are meant to show off more than just the concept’s interior, they’re meant to showcase what will eventually be in nearly every new Mercedes. The brand’s mind-blowing Hyperscreen further evolves into a massive 47-inch 8k display that spans the length of the dash. Then, there’s the materials, and our first great example of post-luxury.
What is post-luxury?
Inside the super-slippery shell of the EQXX, all the materials are designed to be made as sustainable and polar bear-friendly as possible. The floormats are made from recycled bamboo, the door pulls from some alien-looking silk substitute and the seat leather made from squished-up cacti and mushrooms. That’s what post-luxury is, as Lucid’s design and brand team point out below.
They, and Kyle Kinard of Road and Track, define post-luxury as a new kind of wealth. Wealth where social and eco-consciousness are worn on your sleeve. Whether that’s because you genuinely care or because it’s trendy, is up to you. Lucid Director of Brand Nathan Barbour defines it as a prevailing thought among the wealthy that “luxury brands have to be socially conscious.” Old-school brand provenance doesn’t mean anything to the wealthy anymore. Apparently.
Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, Lucid lean into post-luxury concepts
Instead, wealthy buyers, like those targeted by the massively expensive Lucid Air and Tesla Model S, want less. But like, classy less, not “poor people” less. It’s called minimalism, sweetie, look it up. Fashion jokes aside, these prevailing ideas of minimalism, eco-consciousness, and “less is more” mentality now define luxury, wealth, and status in the modern era. Kinard calls this idea absurd, and says it’s simply a rebrand of “Keeping Up With The Joneses.”
As for the Mercedes-Benz EQXX and the brand’s post-luxury future? For now, at least, it appears the post-luxury concept will be an idea that carries new luxury cars and EVs forward. As for the purported 600+ mile range of the EQXX and its incredible new Hyperscreen? Bring it on. Post-luxury or not, some things are just plain cool.
