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The Mercedes F800 concept car offers a glimpse into the not-so-distant future of luxury motoring.

It's around the same size as the current C-Class saloon, but with a swoopy roofline like the larger CLS four-door coupe's. Its overall design is far more daring than anything Mercedes currently builds, SLS supercar excepted.

While its bold new look previews Mercedes' future styling direction, it's the F800's technology that really stands out. It has been designed to accommodate a choice of either a conventional petrol engine with a plug-in hybrid system or a hydrogen-powered fuel cell.

The hybrid has a combined power output of 400bhp but CO2 emissions of just 86g/km - better than any other car on the road. Meanwhile the fuel cell produces no tailpipe emissions at all.At speeds of up to 25mph, a new system called Traffic Jam Assistant automatically stops, starts and steers the car for the driver. That should leave more time to fiddle with the Apple iPad-esque touch screen which controls the stereo, climate control and navigation systems.

While the F800 is destined to remain a concept car, its looks, engines and advanced technologies will influence a whole new generation of Mercedes' cars, starting with next year's new CLS.

The F800 makes its official debut at the 2010 Geneva motor show.

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