Futuristic vehicle models scaled 1:4 are displayed on platforms at the design center in Irvine, and the walls are adorned with large-format sketches of vehicles that will either be presented at auto shows from Los Angeles to Frankfurt, or else built exclusively for internal development studies. Examples include an all-wheel-drive search and rescue vehicle equipped with thick cleated tires for desert driving, state-of-the art satellite technology, rescue tools, a hydrogen drive system, and a four-door luxury convertible named “Ocean Drive” that combines the sleek power of the S-Class with the elegance of the legendary 300D “Adenauer” from the 1960s. Also on view is an initial prototype of the F 700 research vehicle, which features state-of-the-art technology for enhanced safety and comfort as well as an aerodynamic profile that takes its cue from the shape of a dolphin. Finally, there’s a particularly bold vehicle study code-named “Silverflow” which, depending on the driving situation, can alter its appearance at the push of a button, like a projectile made of liquid metal. The futuristic car can be compressed or extended, and even repair itself. Inspiration from neighboring Hollywood and its special effects obviously played a role here.

Free-flowing ideas

“Advanced Design is a creative oasis – an island in the sea of production, where you can let your ideas flow freely without worrying about how to get them to the series production stage,” says Gorden Wagener, Vice President for Global Advanced Design. The 39-year-old German designer not only manages the studio in California but is also responsible for the Group’s two other design think tanks in Sindelfingen, Germany, and Yokohama, Japan. Some 60 designers work at the three locations on concepts that will keep Mercedes-Benz at the cutting edge of automotive developments for the next 50 years or more.

“We’re all artists, but we need to think like engineers as well.”: Gordon Wagener heads the Strategic Advanced Design department and as such acts as director of the Mercedes design studios in California and Japan. From mid-2008 onwards, he is to head the globally active design division of Mercedes-Benz.

Together with model constructors, these specialists create exterior design styles behind closed doors. They also work closely with engineers to develop the technological innovations that are often hidden under the vehicles’ futuristic-looking shells. The activities of the three studios are complemented by an Interior Design Center in Como, Italy, where 20 creative minds tap into the inspiring innovations that can be found in neighboring Milan, a famous center of fashion and furniture design.

This global network has resulted in “continual competition to come up with the best solutions,” says Wagener as he leads us on a tour of the modest-looking facility in Irvine. Wagener’s team develops new concepts and models in a two-story building surrounding an enclosed courtyard lined with palm trees. Around half of their developments make their way into the ongoing product design process at the company’s headquarters in Sindelfingen. Beneficiaries include new versions of Mercedes-Benz model series such as the A, G, and S-Class. The other half are bold visions for the automotive world of the 22nd century – visions that for now at least are limited to the drawing board or the computer screen. 

Balancing act

“Design is emotional – it should display not only the personal signatures of the designers themselves but also the influence of the places where they work,” says Wagener. “We’re all artists, but we need to think like engineers as well.” In Wagener’s view, design is a balancing act between aesthetic considerations, technical innovation, and precision engineering. When these three aspects form a perfect constellation, an initial sketch in Irvine, Yokohama, or Sindelfingen will eventually end up as a new vehicle model that can be on the global market some three years later. The concepts for the new CL and SLK originated in southern California, for example. In addition, Irvine produced the prototype for an extraordinary compact car – formerly called the MCC – which hit the streets of California as the smart fortwo at the beginning of this year.

Designers take note of how many of their ideas make it from the note pad to the showroom. “The ultimate goal of a designer is that the car in question makes it to the final round of consideration and, ideally, is chosen for production,” says Christopher Rhoades, who has been working for Mercedes since 1987 and is now the Assistant General Manager in Irvine. Like its counterparts in Germany and Japan, the U.S. design studio regularly submits a series of concepts that provide a strategic foundation for the development of new models or bold research (F) and vision (V) vehicles. Although the timeline for these concepts varies, they must all be able to transport the core messages of the Mercedes brand into the future. “We intentionally collect various approaches with global aspects, because each studio is influenced by its specific cultural surroundings,” says Wagener, who visits the studios in Germany and Japan at least once a month. After all, creativity cannot be managed exclusively by phone, e-mail, and videoconferencing: “Designers need to present their ideas personally in order to promote them successfully.”

Ideas from around the globe The network of Daimler’s four Advanced Design Studios The Advanced Design Studio in Irvine near Los Angeles opened in June 1990 as the first Mercedes-Benz design studio outside of Germany. Today, the approximately 1,200 square meter facility employs 18 designers and model constructors who work on the vehicle designs of tomorrow and beyond, and are assisted by one or two interns from design schools in the area. The design center in Irvine regularly shares ideas – and staff – with its sister studios in Yokohama and Sindelfingen. A fourth studio in Como, Italy, which has around 20 employees, focuses exclusively on interior vehicle design.