Car Design Review X: Gorden Wagener

What makes the difference between mainstream and luxury design? Icons. And arguably we have the greatest number of icons among all carmakers: the S-Class, SL and G-Class are just a few examples. And this year we revealed the recreation of another icon in the concept One-Eleven.

The One-Eleven stands for ‘super simplicity’, with a single arch from the front to the rear, but an incredibly sensual treatment of the front and rear fenders. Of course, it references the C111, which itself was strongly influenced by the 300 SL. And I want to point out that we are the only brand that makes true ‘gull-wing’ doors, instead of scissor doors or similar solutions.

To me, they look like the wings of an angel. It’s worth taking a close look at the One-Eleven, because it provides insight into the technological leaps that we are going to roll out in the future. With those massive tyres and wheels, we are hinting at the Yasa electric motor technology, a next-generation propulsion system that we could potentially incorporate into the wheels. The active aero elements with the rear diffusor will be part of future models too.

Our EVs will always be aerodynamic champions, but without ever compromising on style. We had fun with the interior. The seats and the colour and trim are very much informed by 1970s style. Standing pedals and the extremely low seating position create a race-car feel. We are reimagining our displays as well. In our EQS and EQE production models we have literally dematerialised the instrument panel. Regular displays are outdated and we want to create far more immersive experiences. We think of digital luxury in three layers: on the base level, we have to make sure the functionality, including voice control, works flawlessly.

On the second level, we emphasise our own brand style, which is something every luxury brand truly needs. And on top of that, we create what we call the ‘x-factor’, for instance with the display of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) owned by the driver. In the case of the One-Eleven, we deliberately employed an early 1980s style for the display graphics, reminiscent of the Pac Man video game aesthetic of early consumer computers. We are experimenting with AI too. If used by designers with the right guidelines, the results can be interesting and an inspiration.

There is one thing we won’t touch: Our star logo is an incredible asset and we want to develop it carefully, while using it to make forceful statements. We can play with the logo by creating patterns on the grille and elsewhere, and we are taking inspiration from the fashion world and how logos are treated there. But we have to make sure it never becomes inflationary. Personally, at least on the E-Class and S-Class, I really like our logo as an ornament atop the front grille. No other brand would be able to do this – but it looks just right on a Mercedes-Benz.

We are still fully committed to our design philosophy strategy of ‘sensual purity’ that we formulated a decade ago. It is truly our religion. Our style separates us from mainstream brands. We believe in natural attraction, emotional response, literal beauty that touches the senses and that excludes compromises and aesthetically weak solutions.

On the other hand, we believe in purity, an intellectual approach, creating clean and tight lines and pure graphics that contrast with those sexy surfaces. And when you look at the projects we created with [the late] Virgil Abloh, you will notice that occasionally, we celebrate the extraordinary and follow an approach that is about ‘exclusivity’ in a literal sense.

These cars ‘exclude’ because they do not necessarily need to appeal to the masses, only to a small circle of connoisseurs. In our line-up, we will make room for such models. We won’t just offer luxury models in our entire vehicle portfolio. We strengthen our top-end portfolio and especially push what we call the ‘pinnacle of exclusivity’. Under the Mythos name we will create vehicles for small production runs, at an exclusive price.