When it comes to the impressions and style of the car manufacturers’ chambers, Mercedes was an undisputed champion for many years. Traditionally, their stage is a 6-floor tall exhibition hall, with a vast internal atrium remodelled for each exhibition following a different concept.
They won awards, accolades and public votes, no matter what the competition threw at them. The format of the stage was fundamentally rethought every year to reflect the zeitgeist of its era. This year Mercedes followed a brand new concept, not just in terms of the theme, but also the overarching concept.
The first section of the Mercedes-Benz Show starts in the Forum of the Festhalle, where the product highlights and, world premiere vehicles are presented.
The cars are lined up in clearly arranged brand zones, from Maybach to AMG, EQ, Smart and of course Mercedes. This zone offers visitors to experience a selection of cars, but this is also were cars from the model year 2019 end.
I was particularly fond of the GLC 300 e, the new family all-rounder equipped with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain with vast autonomy and a not so powerful petrol engine.
This might prove to be a possible solution to those who are still crippled into a taxation scheme that does not tolerate wasteful high output petrol engines.
The actual ride starts here with the motto “Pioneering the future. By Mercedes-Benz since 1886”, with screens presenting examples of Mercedes-Benz moments from over 130 years.
The stairs lead to the upper floor with themed spaces, which are represented by the keywords “Intuitive”, “Energise”, “Excite” and “Responsible”.
In this segment, Merc showcased technological innovation such as a special edition of the electric EQC and a presentation of the next generation of controls.
There was also a pretty cool glass cage hanging out of the top gallery of the building, allowing the best visual access to what awaits the visitors.
I can tell you in advance, it is not for the acrophobic.
This was one of my favourite attractions among the simple little pleasures that visitors should give a try…
The main attraction of the floor was arguably the Vision URBANETIC study, a mobility concept that goes beyond existing ideas on autonomous vehicles.
Mercedes was particularly proud of this concept that eliminates the separation between people moving and goods transport with different interchangeable bodyworks on the same chassis.
Personally, I found it more a van from a Ben10 comics (does it still exist? : )), and I am also not ready to cheer for a self-driving electric van.
The stairs lead down to the next floor, with a bright organically formed passage in which the colour and lighting mood responds and changes in harmony with the needs of the visitors.
This makes for an interactive exhibit: visitors’ pulse rate influence the colour and atmosphere. Not to worry, this is just the beginning, neither the interactivity nor the fun aspect will stop here.
When passing by the production cars, last traditionally showcased ones of the visit, visitors arrive at the next segment.
The exhibition space here is visually dominated by a series of suspended spheres. This form also pops up in the virtual games of the room.
The official press material describes this as inspirational experiences, but I simply call this the psychedelic corner. In case you are wondering, the centre of the segment is dominated by an electric Silver Arrow (and not the big red balloons).
Although it seems like coming from the future, the EQ Silver Arrow concept is actually almost 2 years old. Mercedes already unveiled the Vision EQ Silver Arrow show car in August 2018 at Monterey Car Week.
The one-seater vehicle is a homage to the successful record-breaking W 125 car from 1937. The paintwork in alubeam silver is reminiscent of the historic Silver Arrows which, for weight reasons, did not have a white paint layer, the national racing colour of Germany.
The interior is dominated by traditional, naked materials such as genuine leather, polished aluminium and solid walnut. At the same time, the digital dashboard points to the future: it features a curved panoramic screen and a touchscreen integrated into the steering wheel.
The Silver Arrow is surrounded by racing cars, including the superdominant Mercedes Formula 1 car, and a still veiled Formula 1 car. Now, if you have ever been to the awesome factory museum in Stuttgart, you might recall the overwhelming racing success of Mercedes in pretty much everything they tried.
I imagine that the competition is peeing its pants for this premiere, but it is still funny to see that the car was late at the IAA, still being under the veil in the afternoon of the second press day.
Almost as attractive, the corner of the room hosts an interactive surfing simulation game, with a focus on personalised interaction with the vehicle made possible by digitalisation.
The tour continues to the ground floor where Mercedes showcases some really spectacular, innovative or sometimes rather scary projects.
The most colourful is the Experimental Safety Vehicle ESF 2019, to give an insight into the ideas that the company’s safety experts are researching and working on. Some are near-series developments, and some look well into the future. The ESF 2019 is based on the new Mercedes-Benz GLE, is capable of automated driving in many situations and features a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Another ESF was based on the S class with less decoration but equipped with similar equipment.
The final show was delivered by the VISION EQS concept car, that is intended as an outlook on the future of Mercedes-Benz (more specifically the S Class). Creating a concept car for a future luxury Mercedes gives a lot of freedom and endless possibilities, but the front shares common elements with the already marketed electric SUV EQC.
The black-panel grille, which has been realised with several levels as a world first, aims to improve the precision of signalling. With this total of 940 individual LEDs in a three-dimensional space, the light signals with which the vehicle communicates with its surroundings create a fascinating impression of depth. Now if you ever been tailed by a Merc on the highway, you might be wondering what endless possibilities this opens to communication : ).
Now to conclude, I usually subscribe to the motto of the Stuttgart brand when it some to their Frankfurt show: nothing but the best. This year, however, I could not wholeheartedly endorse the concept of the show, and sometimes also fell short in its implementation. Nevertheless, the show is still impressive with breath-taking concept cars, interactive elements and a glimpse of the future that may be closer than we think.
