By: Dave Abrahams
Frankfurt Motor Show - This, says Mercedes-Benz, is two cars in one - a stylish four-door coupé and an aerodynamic record setter with a drag coefficient of just 0.19.
The concept changes shape automatically from design mode to aerodynamic mode at 80km/h - no, Cyril, we're not kidding, eight segments extend at the back to increase its length by 390mm, flaps in the front bumper extend 25mm to the front and 20mm to the rear to smooth the airflow around the front end and wheel arches, while the rim offsets flatten out from 55mm to zero.
Stuttgart calls it the Concept IAA (Intelligent Aerodynamic Automobile); it's 5040mm long (5430 mm in aerodynamic mode),
1995 mm wide and 1305 mm high on a 2975mm wheelbase and has a petrol/electric plug-in hybrid drive with a total output of 205kW, giving it an electronically limited top speed of 250km/h and a battery range of 62km - or 66km in aerodynamic mode.
Mercedes says you should actually get significantly more, driving at a steady speed on a freeway. This is the very first time we've heard a carmaker complain that the standard EU fuel-consumption protocol is unrealistic - which it is, but that usually works in the manufacturers' favour!
FUTURE TECH
The concept also gives us a look into less obvious future technology, notably Car-to-X connectivity, which enables it communicate with other vehicles or other sources of information, such as traffic information, warning it of problems neither it nor you can see yet - which means the car can literally 'see round corners'.
The interior is styled as an extrapolation of the S-Class' design language, giving us an idea of what a future Mercedes business sedan might look like, trimmed in shades of dark gray and white, aluminium and cut glass.
Most of the controls are touch-screen based, rather than by buttons or knobs - an extension of the universal trend in electronic devices.
The two-spoked steering wheel has a touchpad in each spoke, using what Mercedes rather pretentiously calls optical finger navigation to control the displays on the dashboard.