It’s a slow news day, and we usually ignore the latest updates from Mercedes. However, it seems the company is forging ahead with a new generation of vans and MPVs, having just unveiled a concept van that looks like it was designed in the mid-1990s as part of a student project. If you’re a fan of gaudy glitz, the Mercedes Vision V might just be your thing.

The Mercedes Vision V is all about ostentatious, glitzy luxury tailored for the electric age. Yet, behind the scenes—far from the public eye—Mercedes continues to lobby for the ongoing use of diesel and petrol engines. The hypocrisy is striking. The Vision V itself feels like a retro-futuristic throwback, masquerading as a glimpse into a future that Mercedes seems reluctant to fully embrace.

This concept is less about innovation and more about excess: a 42-speaker Dolby Atmos surround sound system, a 65-inch cinema screen, a private lounge experience, burr wood accents, and Nappa leather trim throughout. It’s shiny-shiny, flashy-flashy—a cocoon for those who want to escape reality, pampered and isolated in total privacy.

The Vision V is over-the-top, in-your-face luxury for people who don’t want to be seen—those who prefer the anonymity of tinted windows, reflecting a personality hidden behind a shield. For them, life in the real world has become too tedious, too bothersome.