Mercedes predicted its future almost perfectly back in 1981

This is the Mercedes Auto 2000 concept, presented at the 1981 Frankfurt motor show and billed as the car for the new millennium. It was Merc’s answer to a challenge laid down by the German government’s research ministry (along with a cheque for taking part) in the late Seventies. They had to build a car that could manage 21.3mpg and not weigh more than 2,150kg. 

Hold your horses – there were other targets you had to meet as well. The car needed to be able to manage a load of 400kg and seat four people, you couldn’t just build something the size of a wheelbarrow powered by elastic bands with one seat inside. Mercedes says that it was a “very ambitious target in those days”. So there.

Yes – as well as Mercedes, both Audi and Volkswagen also took the opportunity to relieve the German government of a few Deutschmarks in order to try and save a few quid on petrol. Both sides tried a same-but-slightly-different approach – downsized engines, but the Audi motor was popped inside a long elegant saloon, while Volkswagen ended up with a short stubby hatchback. 

The Mercedes engineers placed a particular emphasis on aerodynamics – the drag-coefficient of the Auto 2000 concept was a slippery 0.28 to avoid drag. They did this by designing the car with a Kamm tail, the look characteristic of every eco car since. A long sloping (and sculpted) roofline leads to a sudden drop, which helps air to flow more quickly and smoothly over the car. 

Mercedes tried three different powertrains on the Auto 2000 concept – a 3.8-litre V8 petrol engine employing innovative new (this was 1981 remember) cylinder shutoff tech, so that the engine wouldn’t use the full set if it didn’t need to. There was a 3.3-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder diesel that sounds like it would fit right in now (that version of the car managed 31.3mpg), and even a gas turbine-powered car. The engineers liked the gas option for its low weight, compact set-up and lower emissions.

There wasn’t much craziness on the Auto 2000 concept, these are Germans we're dealing with here. The side-hinged bonnet and glass tailgate were certainly distinctive touches, but Merc majored on safety innovations with the car – the front seats had belts mounted directly on the seats, integrated child restraint systems and pedestrian friendly bumpers, presumably with a little extra bounce built in. 

It was never really meant to go into production, although it was tested extensively by the Mercedes engineers. Think of the Auto 2000 project more as a cheeky way of the German government subsidising research into fuel efficiency at some of the country's major carmakers – the fuel crisis of the Seventies had ravaged the global auto industry and big steps had to be taken to reduce dependency on oil. Some of the styling of the concept can be seen on the SEC (S-Class coupe), which was also launched in 1981.  

What’s interesting, if you half close your eyes and squint a little bit, is how much like the 2005 R-Class the Auto 2000 concept looks. What’s even more interesting is that the launch R350 was powered by a 3.5-litre V6 petrol, managed 24.4mpg and weighed in at around 2.1 tonnes. Amazing how 20 years on from the Auto 2000 concept, the predictions of the past really had come to pass. If you fancy a closer look at the concept car, you can see it at the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart.