Auto Design

At the Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz will be announcing the replacement of its middle-class coupé CLK with a new one called Mercedes-Benz E Coupé.

The name marks a welcome change and a new, more exciting direction in car design by the German make. The announcement comes only three months after the announcement of the new and innovative E-Class, due to go on sale next month. Read the rest of this entry »

Mercedes-Benz designers have dreamed of a car that combines a number of sophisticated features. Their Formula Zero goes beyond today’s Formula One racers adding to its thrill a clear touch of luxury, the dynamics of the bobsled integrated into the track, and the grace and efficiency of yacht racing.Reminiscent of the Mercedes Benz racing heritage of the 1930’s, the Formula Zero Racer is loaded with technology designed to extract the maximum thrust from the electric hub motors, aero-efficient solar skin and high-tech rigid sail.Each team is allocated the same amount of stored energy and it is left to the teams and drivers to manage the variables to win the race. The winner is determined by total elapsed time combined with the energy efficiency factor. Spectators at the Mercedes Benz Formula Zero racing Series are treated to a new dimension of racing as the transparent track is visible from all perspectives – even from below!Designers:

·        Alan Barrington;

·        George Yoo;

·        Kevin Verduyn

Photo Gallery:

Comes November 20^th and we will know the winner of the 5^th Design Challenge.

Nine Southern California design studios of the top carmakers have presented their own concept and design of what the Race Car of the future will be in 2025.

The Design Challenge is held within the frame of the Los Angeles Auto Show that opens its gate to the public on November 21^st.

This year theme for the challenge was to «Visualize Auto Racing in the Year 2025» along the following guidelines: «Today’s race cars have ground-breaking technology to improve speed, power, performance and safety but what a difference 17 years into the future can make. Imagine race cars that go beyond the expectations and challenges of racing today, such as never needing to stop for re-fuelling or collision avoidance assistance technology for enhanced safety».

According to Chuck Pelly, director of Design Los Angeles and partner in The Design Academy, Inc. «Automotive designers have always been fascinated with Motor Sports and this year’s Design Challenge has provided them with the opportunity to use their creative talent to look at these cars with new eyes, using innovative technologies and approaches”.

Works by Audi, BMW, GM, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volkswagen are pitted against each other to showcase their talents and further explore new ideas in automotive design.

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Entries will be judged by Tom Matano of San Francisco’s Academy of Art University, Imre Molner of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies and Stewart Reed of Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design. Daniel Simon, an established car designer and founder of Cosmic Motors, is the special guest judge this year. Simon began his design career at Volkswagen and recently published his first book: Cosmic Motors-Spaceships, Cars and Pilots of Another Galaxy. His book seems to have suggested the theme of this year challenge and the flavour of some of the works presented, whereas other works have inspired themselves to the superlative illustration technique of Syd Mead.

Starting today I am sharing with you their works. One per day. And in alphabetic order. Go to AUDI R25.

Brought to you from the company design centre and press office.

Pictures always say a lot more than thousands of words. However, here some news you might like to read.

The Mercedes-Benz Concept Fascination seems to be committed to bring back to the brand those car buyers who appreciate clear-cut and simple design. The Concept Fascination has still a way to go before being accomplished for simplicity but it is clear that this brilliant show-car is moving in that direction.

They say this elegant 2-door sports car anticipates the look and some of the design treatment of the forthcoming new E-generation and its CLK derivative. In this case, it constitutes a promise of more distinctive, modern and attractive Mercedes-Benz. However, I would like to see the fascination in production soon both for its sleek shooting-brake concept that is a classic among sports car and for its design, which shows a new, welcome, direction for the German carmaker. The interior too is simply fascinating and there are just too many details and stimulating combinations of classic and modern materials matched with a great sense of harmony, that it makes more sense to let the images speak for the dream-car.

Click on the image for photo gallery: 

Going to an international motor show is like going to the annual market. You meet a lot of friends and people, see many things and you come back home with the head full of information, impressions, news, comments and opinions. So much so that indeed you need a few days to arrange everything in some sort of order so that you get to the essence of the experience. This is all the same and yet all different every time. And I am not just talking of the cars.

As for cars, new cars I mean, I have come home with an incredible load of pictures and information.

I would have to share them all with you the very moment I sat back to my PC last Saturday but this is simply impossible. It takes a lot of time to put a label and classify more than 2000 images.

Now, having done just that I can start sharing with you some of the most significant. Or at least some that I image you want to see as soon as possible.

This is why, at this time I am offering you a series of photo galleries to look at. What you see is a combination of images shot at the Paris “Mondial de l’Automobile” and images provided by the press offices and design studio of the car makers.

I am giving priority to the latter ones, as the most attractive and unique.

Related information and comments will be posted shortly. Click on images below to access their photo gallery.

Mercedes-Benz has celebrated the retirement of Prof. Peter Pfeiffer with a brilliant farewell party at the “dome-hall” of the company design centre in Sindelfingen.

Prof. Pfeiffer has spent 40 years within the Mercedes-Benz design organisation and took its leadership in 1999, when his mentor, Mr. Bruno Sacco retired.

Much like most large corporations in Germany, Daimler Group’s rule mandate retirement of its executive when they reach the age of 65.

With the Ceo  of the Daimler Group, Dieter Zetsche, and Thomas Weber, Daimler member of the board, responsible for research and development, some 300 colleagues from within the Daimler Group and the industry at large – such as Bruno Sacco, Christofer Bangle, Michael Mauer and Murat Gunak – celebrated Prof. Pfeiffer and his successor Gorden Wagener.

More news from the even here, hopefully in few days.

Click on the image for the Photo memory book.