Inside Look at Mercedes-Benz Design Process

Ever wonder how the SLS AMG or the E-Class Coupé is created? Where is the future of Mercedes-Benz design headed?

This year at the 2009 International Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz is allowing auto enthusiasts to take a behind-the-scenes look at how professional Mercedes-Benz designers create new cars. From the first design sketch to the finished model, spectators can witness the design process first hand.

It is a great opportunity for show visitors to learn about auto design. The official press release from Daimler is below:

Official Press Release:

Stuttgart/Sept. 16: “Crossing boundaries and setting trends – that is emphatically what our design is all about”, says Gorden Wagener, Head of Design at Mercedes-Benz. “We develop existing forms further, and take them to new, exciting dimensions.”

This year, visitors to the International Motor Show are able to see this exciting design process at first hand, and witness how familiar Mercedes features are reinterpreted using innovative design concepts to form a dramatic composition of tradition and progress. The designers of the premium automobile brand have allowed outsiders to gain an insight into their work. In numerous individual stages, they show how a new Mercedes-Benz model is created from an idea.

To provide this authentic experience, Mercedes-Benz has constructed a special bay on its stand at the show in Frankfurt. This is where the designers lend their personal, creative touch to the subject of “Mercedes-Benz Design” by demonstrating their work live at several display stations. At the drawing board, for example. Or during a live-tape event, where the designers magically project the 1:1-scale exterior of the AMG SLS Gullwing and the E-Class Coupé on the wall. To do this they use special, usually black adhesive tape in various thicknesses and transparent foils. This so-called “taping” is a flexible way of presenting design perspectives. In practice it is used as a first reconciliation between the proportions and the dimensional concept.

A number of clearly presented exhibits demonstrate aspects of the interior design work. In addition to styling, this is about functionality, materials, colour, touch or instrument design – to ensure that the aesthetics of the interior are in harmony with the exterior.

A film with authentic scenes from the design department also shows the development of the SLS from what amounts to a “backstage” perspective, something which is normally covered with a veil of secrecy for outsiders. Visitors to the stand are able to judge the quality with which the design ideas have been realised by displays of design icons such as the E-Class Coupé, CLS, CL, SL and SLK.

Direct communication with Mercedes-Benz designers heightens this first-hand experience. They describe their work, explain the secrets of the Mercedes-Benz strategy and design philosophy in a logical and clear way even for the layman, point out the characteristic design features of the Coupé and Roadster, and provide an insight into design thinking for the Mercedes-Benz sports cars.