Mercedes-Benz shows off new design in form of a sculpture

DETROIT — At 7:45 Monday morning, Mercedes-Benz showed off the lines of its new design language in the form of a sculpture — a two-and-a-half ton silver resin model that appeared to be rising from or sinking into a fabric floor. The slick silver skin, Mercedes said, was supposed to suggest the work of snow or sand or water — or the Terminator films.

The upright grille links to bold, sensuous side-character lines and large wheel openings.
The themes are to evoke ’30s cars, Gorden Wagener, Mercedes design chief, said. He chose a sculpture rather than a full car, he said, to avoid model guessing games and to communicate the importance of design as art and style and not just engineering — and “to assert that Mercedes brand of design rises to that of art.

“It is like Michelangelo. He said you find the sculpture by carving away the rest of the stone,” Mr. Wagener said.

Mr. Wagener said the company’s new look shared sensuality, elegance and excitement with efficiency. “It is environmentally responsible because it is aerodynamic and efficient.”
With few concept cars scheduled for unveiling at this show because of costs and the industry’s new sobriety, the sculpture, which appears sunken in eight or 10 inches of base might be read as a symbol for the meltdown of design. “0r it could be rising like that bird, the Phoenix,” Mr. Wagener said.

Source: The New York Times