Mercedes' latest design concept embodies its history and future

Mercedes-Benz Design has unveiled the 'Vision Mercedes Simplex', a sculpture embodying the heritage and future of the luxury brand. The Vision Mercedes Simplex symbolises the transition into a new era of design and technology, while creating an homage to the historical legacy and the birth of the brand.

In the spring of 1901, a car the likes of which the world had never seen appeared on the starting line - a high-performance car which Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft had developed at the suggestion of the visionary Emil Jellinek.

The Mercedes 35 PS, named after Jellinek's daughter Mercedes, appeared with a completely new vehicle architecture and dominated the competitions in Race Week, which took place on the famous racetrack from Nice to La Turbie, right at the heart of what is now the Mercedes-Benz International Design Center Europe.

Its design is now acknowledged as the first modern car that heralded a new era in vehicle design, by taking the first step away from the high motorised carriage-based designs to a flat vehicle design, with a light, high-performance engine installed low in the frame. The Mercedes 35 PS was a pioneer of success and a role model for all the cars that were to follow.

The sculpture 'Vision Mercedes Simplex' thus recalls this historic event and carries the pioneering spirit and the stylistic character of those days far into the 21^st century.

Its vehicle body sits as a monocoque amid four large wheels, which form the outer points of the vehicle. The vertical colour separation into a white front with a black rear section follows the historic example.

At the front, a radiator is finished in rose gold reminiscent of the bronze radiator grille of the historic example, with an opening in the form of a large lens-shaped Black Panel/3D display.

The omission of a windscreen - as on the historic role model - reinforces its sporty character and allows a seamless transition from the front-end to the instrument panel. Slim reversing lamps are horizontally integrated into the rear section and separate the upper section from the lower section of the exterior shell, which envelops the occupants like a protective cocoon.

Exceptional craftsmanship is also evident on the leather bag that rounds off the tail end of the vehicle body.

The user interface design meanwhile demonstrates Mercedes-Benz's vision of digital luxury. The driver is only shown precisely the information they actually require for the specific driving situation.

The heart of the instrument panel is a physical rose gold coloured instrument on which dynamic digital content is projected.

This combination of mechanical beauty with intelligent digital content is described by the Mercedes-Benz designers as 'hyper analogue'. The right information is shown on the display at the right time, such as the speed, navigation instructions or vehicle information, while other information is displayed on the instrument panel depending on the situation. 

A star pattern fused with the material of the instrument panel creates a large surface onto which information can be projected for a certain amount of time. Thanks to the simple presentation and the size of the display, the driver can take in relevant information and yet still concentrate fully on the road at all times.