This is Merc’s self-driving F 015 concept [Gallery]

Mercedes Benz attracted plenty of attention when it teased an egg-shaped concept last week, promising that it would be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), currently underway in Las Vegas. What it’s delivered, in the shape of the F 015, is something that looks like it’s straight out of a Utopian sci-fi dream.

While Google’s looking to sell the world on the idea of autonomous motoring with cars that look like they come out of a toddler’s play-pen, the German automaker is sticking to what it knows best: refined elegance.

However interesting the F 015’s profile is, that’s not its killer feature. That particular accolade goes to the variable seating system, with four rotating lounge chairs that allow a face-to-face seat configuration.

That in turn means, if you’re not susceptible to motion sickness, that you can really have a business meeting on the go. Alternatively, families could use the seating arrangements to hold actual conversations. In order to make getting in and out of the car easier, the electrically powered seats also swing outwards by 30 degrees as soon as the doors are opened.

The interior also includes six display screens integrated into the instrument panel and the rear and side panels, something which Merc says turns the interior of the electrically powered F 015 Luxury in Motion into a digital arena.

Passengers can apparently interact with the connected vehicle through gestures, eye-tracking or by touching the high-resolution screens. Again, that’s all well and good if you’re fortunate enough not to suffer from the kind of motion sickness that only abates when you keep your eyes level with the horizon.

With its designer looks, the F 015 is far more akin to Rinspeed’s Tesla-based XchangE concept than any of the current crop of autonomous car concepts currently floating around trade show floors.