Auto Design

By Giancarlo Perini ©

The world is getting smaller and smaller and a new première cannot take just in one place at a time.

Here again we go for a world première in Beijing (for the opening motor show) and a preview in Los Angeles at a radically different happening. A meeting of art and culture that Mercedes-Benz did not want to miss.

Here is the rather realistic “show-car” announcing what the next sporty premium compact from Mercedes-Benz looks like. Take off the usual “show-purpose bright and plush” make up and you have the sleek four-door, four seater Mercedes CLA (or B) that is in the pipeline for 2013.

Its official name is “Mercedes-Benz” Concept Style Coupé and its first official description is “the style rebel”. This suggests it is a revolutionary member of the family. Indeed the Style Coupé is the long due reaction to the intense attacks from Audi and BMW in a segment that is going to grow through downsizing. Mercedes-Benz new weapon is going to place the company in the centre of the field for style and emotion and you need not to have prophetic skill to anticipate that this “Style Coupe” will be an outstanding winner, if its style, character and dynamic force are not diluted on its way to regular production.

Gorden Wagener, head of Design at Mercedes-Benz, is in charge and I am sure he will fight to death to preserve this milestone to the return to the front font.

Gorden says that “The Concept Style Coupé is almost production-standard” and that “it sets a new benchmark for avant-garde design in the executive segment”, “Its breathtaking proportions, sinewy fluid surfaces and sculptural lines are the physical expression of our dynamic design idiom.”

He has Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, on his side.

He believes that “the Concept Style Coupé is expressive and powerful in its design” and is fully committing his company to it. “This is the model against which sporty vehicles in the executive segment will have to measure themselves in future.”

Mercedes-Benz does not publish the overall dimensions of its latest entry but considering that the wheels are 20 inches and the turbocharged, four-cylinder, petrol engine produce 155 kW (211 HP) one might see this as the little brother of the CLS.

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by Giancarlo Perini.

After “inventing” the convertible-coupé for their first generation SLK, first launched in 1996, Mercedes-Benz is keen to maintain their leadership in the speciality and further develop the “air and light” unique atmosphere inside their cosy Roadster. The third generation is being launched this year. With orders collected starting January 17^th. In Germany the starting price is € 38,675.00 for the SLK 200 BlueEFFICIENCY (€ 44,256.10 for the SLK 250 BlueEFFICIENCY).  Although not cheap the new Mercedes-Benz SLK is probably the most affordable convertible-coupé of this class. Read the rest of this entry »

by Giancarlo Perini ©

The name sounds very familiar and recalls the mid-ship supercar designed by Giugiaro that actually marked the birth of the M (for “Motorsport”) branch of BMW.  That was 32 years ago.

Comes January 2011 and a “second generation” M1 Coupé will makes its World premiere at North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. Read the rest of this entry »

 It is funny. I have received invitations for two “design” events in the past days. Both were very intriguing and I was positively curious about them. The trouble was that both events would take place on Friday the 12th of December at 6:30 PM in two different locations in Turin. This was a good reason to go back to the town that has been the capital of car design for the past 60 years and this year has played the role of “Turin World Design Capital 2008″. Read the rest of this entry »

Most probably, the ultimate sports car of the future was presented at the Paris Motor Show and went unnoticed. This is despite it presented for the first time a revolutionary innovation developed by century old Michelin: the active (electric) wheel.The car we are talking about, actually a concept-car, is the Venturi Volage designed by the talented and renowned Sasha Lakic. The Volage is an electric 4 wheel drive sports car that is powered by four active wheels, one per wheel, banks on 220 kW of power, only weights 1075 kg and is capable of accelerating from zero to 100 kph in less than 5 seconds. These specifications are based on the assumption that the Lithium-polymer battery pack weights some 350 kg. Read the rest of this entry »

Walter De Silva, not long time ago, said that new car design increasingly tend to become car..caricatures. He was referring to decoration. I share his opinion and I am to an advocate of design simplicity. This clearly explains why I was rather embarrassed the other day, when a Ferrari enthusiast and owner asked my opinion on the new Ferrari California, designed by Pininfarina. Read the rest of this entry »