Frankfurt Preview: Mercedes-Benz BlueZero Extended Range EV Concept

[Ultimate Car Guy]

Yes, and I remember Karlheinz Bauer (Daimler head of design management & operations for passenger vehicles) saying in the next few years car design will shift to more organic & round lines / shapes again.

So, ODC, F700, BlueZero - all the latest MB concepts showing such a trend.

So, after this generation of boxy & angular cars I guess the next one will be more trendy (curvy & organic). What was the point of going angular anyway?

Yeah, this is an interesting question Eni. I suppose when MB wanted to revive their image of quality and reliability (after the damage casued in the late 90s and early '00s) they wanted to remind the customers of the 80s (the period when MBs were known for being rock solid and over-engineered) when their cars were very angular. I guess they perceived the angular design theme to associate with quality and reliability?

Another trend that i've noticed is that the new "environmental awareness" zeigeist that's sweeping the auto industry is giving designers and brands to bring new design themes to complement this new initiative. I'm not an aerodynamicist or a designer but maybe the curvy and organic designs serve a very useful aerodynmic purpose?

 

[EnI]

I'm not an aerodynamicist or a designer but maybe the curvy and organic designs serve a very useful aerodynmic purpose?

Not really. Eg. E-class offers incredible drag coefficient (Cd: 0.25 - sedan, 0.24 - coupe) despite being quite angular.

Although car's bodywork is certainly the greatest source of aerodynamic resistance, it certainly isn't the dominant. Only 40% resistance comes from bodywork, 30% arising from the wheels and wheel wells, 20% from the car's underbody, and 10% owed to internal air flow (radiator flow etc).

I guess they perceived the angular design theme to associate with quality and reliability?

Could be. Since angular & boxy = sturdy. And it also reminds of MB's best ear. Angular = back to the roots = back to the quality & great engineering.

 

[SKY]

Yes, and I remember Karlheinz Bauer (Daimler head of design management & operations for passenger vehicles) saying in the next few years car design will shift to more organic & round lines / shapes again.

So, ODC, F700, BlueZero - all the latest MB concepts showing such a trend.

So, after this generation of boxy & angular cars I guess the next one will be more trendy (curvy & organic). What was the point of going angular anyway?

I´m convinced that the next Benzes will look much more rounded and organic than todays ones. I don´t think we will see the new S-Class looking squared as the E-Class does. You can see how the CLS and the SLK look much more organic than the E, GLK and E Coupe, specially the CLS.

I would have liked the W212 to look like this:

Maybe the next S-Class...

PD: BTW!!! Does anybody knows when Huck is going to show a render of the W222 S-Class?.

EDIT: I was refering to this:

 

[hannaz]

I´m convinced that the next Benzes will look much more rounded and organic than todays ones. I don´t think we will see the new S-Class looking squared as the E-Class does. You can see how the CLS and the SLK look much more organic than the E, GLK and E Coupe, specially the CLS.

I would have liked the W212 to look like this:

Maybe the next S-Class...

PD: BTW!!! Does anybody knows when Huck is going to show a render of the W222 S-Class?.

Can't see the photos. Please re post it!

 

[Mr Robert]

...and yet more covered rear wheels...



The whole rear of this car looks as if it have been wrapped in calofan...

 

[NarutoRamen]

^^What annoys me about this is that the damn thing is WAY too f__king shiny. I mean c'mon man. It's like the guy who got the clear coat duty put 10 gallons of the stuff on.

 

[klier]

^ A car cannot be too shiny

 

[SKY]

Links don´t work, the pics I am talking are these ones:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4965/683/1600/Carscoop_ Mercedes_ E_Class 2.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4965/683/1600/Carscoop_ Mercedes_ E_Class 3.jpg

 

[NarutoRamen]

^ A car cannot be too shiny

The multitude of chrome cars from Dubai say hello.

 

[bmer]

...and yet more covered rear wheels...

The original BlueZero concept also had that:

 

[PHYBENZ]

The cover is probably there to reduce drag.

 

[Wolfgang]

A bit better view of an range extender?




BlueZERO E-CELL Plus with 3 cyl REX

Getrag shows 2 cyl REX