It’s official, Mercedes-Benz design is outstanding. As confirmed by three first places in the Automotive Brand Contest 2011. The competition’s top-flight expert jury voted the Mercedes-Benz design team “Team of the year”. They additionally awarded the ultimate “Best of Best” plaudit to the Mercedes-Benz CLS in the Exterior category. The Concept A-Class interior was also deemed “Best of Best”, taking first place in the Interior area of the Concept & Study category.
The Automotive Brand Contest is the first international brand and design competition for the automotive industry. It was launched by the German Design Council, which was established as a foundation by decree of the German Bundestag back in 1953. The independent institution organises this competition dedicated exclusively to the automotive sector in order to acknowledge outstanding achievements in brand management, brand communication and design. In this way, the internationally reputed German Design Council highlights the great importance of design and brand image to the success of an automotive company.
Mercedes-Benz design director professor h.c. Gorden Wagener and his staff of around 500 based in Sindelfingen and at four studios abroad were found to be in a league of their own. The expert jury of the Automotive Brand Contest 2011 awarded them the title of “Team of the year”. “We are all delighted to receive this valuable award in recognition of a magnificent joint effort,” says professor Wagener. “Everyone in our team works with great dedication day-in, day-out to ensure that the Mercedes-Benz models of the future retain their distinctive, hallmark Mercedes character in keeping with the very highest aesthetic standards.”
Two “Best of Best” titles in the Automotive Brand Contest 2011 additionally underscore the Mercedes design team’s efforts. The Concept A-Class interior by Mercedes-Benz took first place in the Interior area of the Concept & Study category. Bionic cell structures, echoes of aircraft design, an operating concept with fully integrated smartphone and unique and revolutionary graphic design featuring three-dimensional, dynamically growing glass elements provide a foretaste of a new generation of the A-Class.
The “Best of Best” title in the Exterior category saw the new generation of the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class following in the footsteps of its predecessor, which has long enjoyed international renown as a design icon. The new CLS combines an elegant coupé silhouette with an expressive front. Its dynamic, athletic figure features a beguiling composition of lines and surfaces and a dropping line, drawing on the uniquely rich fund of design treasures to be found in historical Mercedes sports cars to embody a contemporary aesthetic statement.
The awards will be presented at the Automotive Designers Night which is to take place at the Frankfurt International Motor Show on 13 September.
