Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and smart at the Design Los Angeles Challenge

Mercedes-Benz Design Los Angeles Silver Arrow

01 November 2011 | CDanielson

For the past eight years, the Design Los Angeles Board of Directors – made up of twelve design studio executives – have chosen a theme for the the LA Auto Show’s Design Challenge. This year’s chosen them is “Hollywood’s Hottest New Movie Car” and design studios from around the globe have been invited to participate and submit their designs. Studios from Germany, Japan and the U.S have chosen to compete including Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, smart, Honda, Subaru and Hyundai.

How the vehicle reflects its brand attributes relative to the movie plot; how the vehicle relates to the targeted audience or brand; the level of imagination; the character development of the vehicle; and the uniqueness of the combination of story, car and character are the various factors that the entries are judged on.

Mercedes Silver Arrow- Silver Lightning

In homage to 125 years of automotive innovation and design excellence, Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design of North America features a story with two techno characters that have achieved a unique harmony between safety and style; the iconic Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow racecar, and the underappreciated ‘Crash test dummy.’

In a futuristic society of increased artificial intelligence, two enlightened crash test mannequins, Hans05 and Franz02, show that they’re no dummies when it comes to recognizing a potential catastrophe and decide to take matters into their own hands. As the evil battering ram Dr. Crash-Barrier seeks to continue his reign of terror and mayhem, the two heroes take action to save their beloved Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow. They lead the relentless ‘Dr. Barrier’ on an action packed thrill ride through the past and future of transportation.

A long-slung, sculpture on wheels – actually on ‘Hoops’ – the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow has proportions reminiscent of the Mercedes-Benz W125 series, a Silberpfeil racecar of the late 1930’s and the Uhlenhaut SLR from the 50’s. The overall shape follows distinguished Mercedes-Benz design traditions and is born from a dominant Formula 1 racing legacy. It also features a diagonally configured, hub-less roller track for ‘Omni-Directional’ maneuvering.

Brought to you by the creators of ‘Biome, a car grown from trees’, this epic adventure has it all, including a surprise ending that will have audiences cheering as our reluctant heroes save the day with a little old- school subterfuge and help from the great tradition of the Mercedes-Benz automobiles.

Maybach Berline- Cinderella and the Maybach Berline

Berline Carriage Engineer, her Stepmother, a retired Actress, and her Stepmother’s spoiled daughter who spent her days partying at the Billionares Club while Cindy spent all day working at her father’s workshop.

On the night of her birthday, Cindy’s father surprises her with a beautiful dress and allows her to take a new Maybach prototype out on the town – a reinterpretation of the historic Berline Carriage. Based on the dimensions of a Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, the Maybach Berline Carriage is an E-Cell or F-Cell vehicle and features autonomous driving that allows Cindy to have an amazing night out, where she meets a handsome stranger.

The Carriage is teleoperated via a satellite link to a Maybach Virtual Chauffeur Center. This leaves maximum interior space for the passengers and also allows maximum privacy. The passengers are seated in a vis-à-vis seating layout with a “Royal Lounge” on one side and two single seats on the other. A large glass screen with 3D laser projection is suspended from the ceiling and can display the Virtual Chauffeur or a variety of media and entertainment. The interior and exterior come together seamlessly and are comprised of sustainable materials like wood. Large divided gullwing doors with oversized privacy glass open wide for entry with retractable stairs for convenient entrance (inspired by business jets).

Moviegoers will awe in the romance and new technology as Cindy goes on the journey of a lifetime.

Smart 341 Parkour- Annie get the Grannies!

In a world of continuous change, in Cantpark City, reporter Annie Angle is beginning a new chapter in her life. Cantpark City is famous for its friendly people, the beautiful weather, but notoriously known for a lack of parking spaces. On an early Sunday morning, an article in a newspaper catches Annie’s eyes… “Smart Granny Robots missing!!!”

Annie sets off on a journey to solve the mystery of the missing Grannies and to earn her first, potentially career-making, front page news article. Her Smart 341 Parkour vehicle plays a key role in this private investigation, providing both effective transportation and favourable sleuthing capabilities.

Several features enable her to take pictures from the best possible locations. The large greenhouse gives Annie 360 degrees of visibility while travelling through the inner city. The wheels are retractable and contain impulse pads and vacuum cups. The hexagon skin around the wheelhouse is adjustable to release the wheels. The Smart has different modes: a typical drive mode, a fly mode that allows the vehicle to hover far above the streets and a climb mode that allows the vehicle to run up the walls of skyscrapers.

Follow Annie’s investigative search in Smart’s “Annie get the Grannies!” this November.

View the Official Press Release

Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and smart at the Design Los Angeles Challenge 2011

Stuttgart, Germany, November 02, 2011
For the 2011 Los Angeles Design Challenge, which is seeking to find the most spectacular new film car for Hollywood, the designers from the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studios in Sindelfingen (Germany) and Carlsbad (USA), have joined the ranks of the screen-writers. Their efforts have borne fruit in the form of three visionary "hero cars" – a Mercedes-Benz and a smart, each perfectly cast in an action thriller, and a Maybach luxury carriage starring in a modern-day fairytale. The futuristic Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow teams up with two crash test dummies to battle it out with the forces of evil. The smart 341 Parkour, which is able to climb sheer faces and take to the air, helps a young reporter to scoop the story of her life. The Maybach Berline brings a touch of magic into the life of a hapless Cinderella.

Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow and crash test dummies

The designers at the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studio in Carlsbad, California have created a Hollywood-style homage for Mercedes-Benz to 125 years of innovation in automotive technology and design. The leading roles are played by two high-tech characters which have been instrumental in reconciling safety and stylish design in automobiles: the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow cult racing car and crash test dummies.

The film "Silver Lightning" is set in the near future, in an age of artificial intelligence. Two crash test dummies by the names of Hans05 and Franz02 take on evil ruler Dr. Crash-Barrier to save their beloved Mercedes Silver Arrow. They engage in an action-packed, nerve-jangling duel with the ruthless battering ram before finally outfoxing him. The Silver Arrow is a low-lying sculpture on wheels. A feat of technical innovation is the diagonal, hubless roller which allows steering in all directions. The futuristic Silver Arrow's proportions are reminiscent of the legendary sports car from the late 1930s and the Uhlenhaut SLR from the 1950s.

"Annie get the Grannies" with the smart 341 Parkour

For smart, the designers at the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studio in Sindelfingen have created a revolutionary all-rounder. The smart 341 Parkour is equally at home driving along the road, climbing up the facades of skyscrapers or even taking to the air. The occupant cell is completely transparent and offers the very best all-round visibility – the perfect vehicle for a fast-paced reporter story.

For the plot of the film "Annie get the Grannies", the designers have taken the visionary smart concept with which they won the Los Angeles Design Challenge last year as their starting point. Last year, the smart 454 was knitted from carbon fibres by so-called "smart granny robots". These high-tech robots equipped with knitting needles have now been revived. On reading in a newspaper that the incredible robots have disappeared, the young reporter Annie Angle from Cantpark City scents the story of her life. Armed with a professional camera, she sets off to investigate in her smart 341 Parkour.

Cinderella and the Maybach Berline

For Maybach, Mercedes-Benz's interior designers in Sindelfingen have created a modern reinterpretation of the classic "Berline" a luxury carriage with full suspension from the 17th century, for a remake of the Cinderella fairytale. Hapless Cindy toils day-in, day-out helping her father to develop the Maybach Berline, while her step-sister enjoys the party life. On her birthday her father allows her to travel into town in the prototype of the luxury carriage. She goes to a dance, where she meets an attractive man and loses all sense of time. As she has to be home by midnight, she suddenly dashes off, losing one of her red stilettos in the process. Her dancing partner runs after her with the shoe. Overjoyed, Cindy boards the Maybach Berline and is driven home by a virtual chauffeur.

The Maybach Berline is remote controlled via satellite like a drone, allowing the occupants maximum space and absolute privacy. The chauffeur is based at the Maybach Virtual Chauffeur Center and can be spoken to at any time by means of a glass screen suspended from the roof lining. Every conceivable entertainment feature can also be activated via this screen. Copiously appointed with wood, the interior is designed in the manner of a royal lounge in which the passengers face one another on two comfortable individual seats. Similarly to on a business jet, the passengers board and alight from the vehicle by means of a two-piece swing-wing door with a horizontal split, whereby the lower section folds out to form a step unit. The sides of the carriage have extra-large windows which can be set such that they can only be looked through from inside the vehicle. They can additionally be used as interfaces.

Los Angeles Design Challenge

The Los Angeles Design Challenge is part of the Los Angeles Design Conference, which is to take place from 16 to 17 November 2011 at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The winners of the competition will be announced on 17 November 2011.

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