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Le Kap gets ‘one on one’ access to Daimler’s head of design, Gorden Wagener. Richard Webb journeys to Stuttgart to take up the story
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inspired by this spirit, my visit to Sindelfingen was to make the link to the automotive portfolio of the future. After all, it’s here at Sindelfingen that they transform personal and cultural inspiration into visions of future mobility. Upon arrival, I soon discover security was tight, and I was asked to hand over my iPhone. Reluctantly, I surrendered it, as all hopes of scooping an amazing future Mercedes-Benz before anyone else seemed doomed. I’d met Daimler’s Head of Design, Gorden Wagener before, in Cape Town. Affable and charming, he encourages the creative heads of
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the Advanced Design Centre to have free-rein for their ideas here - where show cars, research vehicles, as well as product and design studies are created. It’s where decisions are made about the designs we will be seeing in 20 or 30 years.
The SL has been driven by Diana, Princess of Wales, a host of racing drivers, ‘A’-listers, pop singers, and rock guitarists, but shortly, the SL will be joined by an even more sporty and luxurious Mercedes convertible – the four-seat S-class Cabriolet.
In a world where so much is going on, a world in which our lives are determined by Internet and the media, Wagener believes we yearn for products with a design idiom that is restful to our eyes. He leads me into the bright open plan theatre where cars are previewed by the media when invited. It’s here where I first clap my eyes on the new S-Class Cabriolet, parked near to the 1955 300SL ‘Gullwing’.
To mark this, I travelled to Stuttgart, the home of Mercedes-Benz. It’s here where cars and culture – normally uncomfortable bedfellows - go together. For example, the Mercedes-Benz Museum is a must-see, with its stylish architecture and perfectly maintained collections. The city is encircled by rolling hills, some peppered with trees and houses, whilst others are intertwined with vines.
Next to that iconic car was another in the making. It was the reduced, clear lines of their new Cabriolet, based on the sublime S-Class Coupé. Its bionic metal shapes stretch tautly over the hightech features. It is both purist and expressive at the same time, and it takes me a minute to realise that my mouth is open, in awe of the sheer sensual presence of the car. >
f there were certain cars that you associate with fame and wealth, what would they be? Probably a Bentley Continental GT, or maybe Rolls-Royce Ghost II, or what about something more aggressive, like a Lamborghini Huracán or a Mercedes SL?
My home for two nights was Mövenpick Hotel Stuttgart Airport, a stylish hotel less than five minutes walk from the arrivals hall. Modern and conveniently placed, it was a physical incarnation of typically German efficiency. At 10h00 sharp an immaculate black 1967 Mercedes-Benz 600 pulled up at the doors of the hotel and headed on to Sindelfingen, home of Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Centre. In its day this grand Mercedes established new and higher standards than ever seen before in automotive engineering and excellence. If ever there was an appropriate car to travel in style from Stuttgart to Sindelfingen, this is surely it. It’s been said that beauty achieves a deeper meaning from its reference to something that only exists in the future. Suitably Gorden Wagener & Richard Webb (on right)
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SUMMER 2015
LE KAP
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL ‘Gullwing’
From the 220S Ponton Cabriolet to the iconic 190SL Roadster, Mercedes-Benz has a long history of producing exquisite convertible cars that set pulses racing and capture the public imagination. This Cabriolet version is the sixth and final to come out of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class family, alongside the existing saloon, coupé, and the ‘hand-crafted by racers’ Mercedes-AMG variants. This is the first four-seater luxury soft-top model to come from Mercedes since the 112 series, which ended production in 1971. The Cabriolet shares many of its styling features with the S-Class Coupé, including LED headlights and the front-end design. It even features a fabric roof that can be opened - or closed - in 20 seconds, at speeds of up to 60 Kph. It’s too early to predict what models will be available here in South Africa when it goes on sale in the middle of 2016. My guess will be that we will see a 334kW twin-turbocharged 4.7-litre V8 in the S500, which should be capable of returning an astonishing 8.5l/100km. The flagship of the range at launch is likely to be the 430kW twinturbocharged 5.5-litre V8 of the S63 version. If that’s not enough, a 463kW twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre V12 option is likely to be added. The S-class Cabriolet is a proper four-seater, rather than a 2+2, with an even greater emphasis on luxury. Of course, this genre is not new for the brand, but it has been absent from the large four-seater convertible market for some time. It is a beautiful car. It is not just its aesthetic appeal. The form is an emotional aesthetic, and creates a bridge between the beauty of the object and the artistic expression of the designer. Claudia Walters from Mercedes-Benz South Africa & Richard Webb with 1967 Mercedes-Benz 600
I asked about his work. “No other brand can boast of such legendary vehicles,” says Wagener, who, since 2008, has been tasked with leading Mercedes-Benz Design towards a progressive design approach. “The designers who work in the unit today consciously focus on updating the history of the automobile, and they work meticulously to ensure that certain design features continue to evolve, yet still retain the brand’s style.” He considers a designer at Mercedes-Benz to be the ambassador of the product, to be “its lawyer who lobbies for the selection of high-quality materials and the necessary investments.” Sophistication, love and a taste for details, as well as painstaking attention to the materials used for both the exterior and the interior are all part of the job. It seems that every designer wants his creation - whether it be a wristwatch, concept car or a brilliant idea - to touch the personality of the individual and to lead to a spontaneous: “Wow, that’s good!” Looking at the new S-Class Cabriolet, there’s no doubt that it will be a source of memories and emotions for a long time to come. And, yes, ‘wow, that does look good.’ Richard Webb inside the S-class Cabriolet
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