Mercedes-Benz Design Department
Wolves and sheep
The German outback always pleases pastoral landscape lovers. So in the vicinity of the small town of Malsheim, which is only 25 kilometers from the industrial and bustling Stuttgart, calm and quiet. Looking at the peaceful red tiled roofs of wooden hangars, you won’t immediately realize that there were “Messerschmites” and “Junkers” hiding here, flying out to bomb France seven decades ago. The runway built on the outskirts of Malsheim in 1937, the Luftwaffe base, has survived to this day safely.
Now, on its black and wet asphalt from the rain, no less than fifty Mercedes-Benz cars are housed in a businesslike way. Before my eyes there is a real exhibition of the achievements of the famous three-ray star: here is the swift SLS-AMG, and the majestic S-class, and the elegant SLK, and a whole brood of electric and not very Smart. In general, an impressive grouping! And nearby, on the emerald grass of the fields surrounding this show of advanced technologies, the most ordinary lambs grazed peacefully. And there is so much harmony and comfort in this union of nature and works of human hands that it was impossible not to be touched.
However, in the main design center of the world's oldest automobile company, located here nearby, in Sindelfingen, a lot of spiritual was discovered.
Mercedes-Benz Design Department
They dream
“It is the creation of a cozy atmosphere so that the owner of the car, driving, feels at home, and this is our first priority,” the tall, slightly awkward uncle who seemed to me like John Malkovich, utters words softly, in a half-whisper. And the head of the color and decoration division Martin Bremer himself is perceived as a model of comfort. Unless he lacks slippers. Martin especially emphasizes the naturalness of the materials used in the decoration and experiments with the gifts of nature. Having picked up a decorative panel with a pattern resembling snake skin, the main Mercedes-Benz decorator demonstrates the effect that can be achieved using eggshells.
“How did they come up with this?” - the question instantly arises. And then the answer follows: in addition to 440 designers involved in cars of the near future, another 60 employees simply … dream. Yes, yes, imagine the work? These guys (however, there are women among them) five days a week, eight hours a day, imagine how humanity will move in space, say, fifty years from now and what kind of vehicles it will need for this.
Mercedes-Benz Design Department
Meticulousness is a sign of mastery
Today it is difficult to say whether eggshells will be widely used in decoration in half a century, but now in Sindelfingen they clearly prefer more durable materials - fabrics, metal, wood, leather. Moreover, the skins for tailoring the Mercedes salon are used mainly from South African cows. And only the source of the most expensive variety of leather - nappa - are Austrian cows. They, as the meticulous Germans found out, are bitten less by insects, and therefore the skin is of the highest quality. A similar thorough approach to the selection of materials extends to fabrics. True, with the manufactory they work more closely not in Sindelfingen, but in a design studio in Italian Como. In the same mansion where Versace ties were once sewn, specially trained people reflect on how aesthetically pleasing the materials will look in the interior of the new car, how the client will feel them.
And samples of fabrics, leather, thread for stitching there is a whole sea. Already only competently combining them is a serious task. So even when changing at least one element in the entire chain, say, the color of the threads in the row of seats or leather trim the front panel, you have to re-test the airbags. After all, a new dye changes the properties of the material to break. And the tree needs to be managed to handle so that throughout the life of the car, the finish retains its original color. Otherwise, after replacement, in the case, God forbid, the accident, the new decorative strip will be different from the rest, which, as I understand it, is completely unacceptable for Herr Bremer.
Mercedes-Benz Design Department
From computers to plasticine
But before the interior of the future Mercedes-Benz is started to be occupied by the employees of the decoration department, he already manages to travel freely to other offices and studios of the design center in Sindelfingen. Indeed, from the very first drafts to the final approval of the new model, at least three years pass into production. By the way, some ten years ago it took twice as much time.
Of course, computers helped to significantly reduce the time. One of the most impressive of them is the magic wall. The large screen of approximately 7 by 3 meters, on which a three-dimensional image of the car is projected, makes a completely stunning impression. It can be twisted as you like, painted in any color, look inside. On the "magic wall" you can see everything to the smallest detail. The image is so realistic that it seems as though you can start and drive a car even now!
And yet, despite the abundance of ubiquitous electronics, in Sindelfingen, like 20 and 50 years ago, models of the future car are molded from plasticine. At the initial stage, designers prepare 3-5 machines on a 1: 4 scale. Moreover, each takes at least a month. After all, the model should not only be blinded, but also finished in the most thorough way. Tiny moldings, miniature emblems, toy wheels made by hand in a special workshop. And after the council of designers chooses the most suitable of them, the chosen one is sculpted already in full size.
