Mercedes-Benz publishes a visual manifesto by Gorden Wagener
These days, a luxury car company is nothing without a dedicated in-house design consultancy. As well as steering the shape and form of future products, these departments are increasingly encouraged to spread their wings and move into the thrusting world of furniture, bikes, yachts, aircraft and even architecture. Mercedes-Benz is no different. Under the stewardship of the German designer Gorden Wagener since 2008, Mercedes' ‘Mercedes-Benz Style’ studio has chalked up an impressive portfolio of non-automotive projects, including helicopter and a speedboat – both built to order – as well as conceptual ideas for both a new-style private jet interior and a visionary yacht.
The Style division is also responsible for shaping the concept cars that preview the future look and feel of Mercedes’ passenger cars. The past 18 months has seen the F015 autonomous luxury car, the morphing aerodynamics of the Concept IAA and the vast, plutocratic Maybach VISION Coupe, to name but three.
In amongst all this, Wagener has also overseen a new book, Sensual Purity, a sort of visual manifesto of Mercedes' recent greatest conceptual hits, with a few real projects thrown in for balance. Glossy photography by Jonathan Glynn-Smith is mixed in with lavishly rendered dreamscapes against which the chromed torsos of tomorrow’s Mercedes-designed machines are displayed.
There's a fair bit of space devoted to what Wagener calls 'sensual purity,' but for fans of design and elegant automobiles alike, what this essentially means is that Mercedes-Benzes are once again looking rather elegant. Not since the golden era of Bruno Sacco in the 70s through to the 90s has there been such a good-looking crop of cars bearing the 3-pointed star, and if the polished flanks of this conceptual fleet is anything to go by, there are some more gems to come.
As chief design officer Daimler AG, Wagener has overseen a rediscovery of the role of proportion and form and how to apply it to what has always been a rather conservative company. Yet Mercedes is also pushing its role as a thought leader, pioneering technologies like electric drive and autonomous cars. Recent concepts have gone further than most in speculating what a true hands-free future might look like, and the book is a fine snapshot of futurism at work.
INFORMATION
Sensual Purity, £40, published by Condé Nast Publications. For more information, visit the Mercedes-Benz website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
Ama Bar, in Vancouver, is sexy and a little disorienting
Ama Bar features ‘Blade Runner 2049’-inspired interiors by &Daughters
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Kembra Pfahler revisits ‘The Manual of Action’ for CIRCA
Artist Kembra Pfahler will lead a series of classes in person and online, with a short film streamed from Piccadilly Circus in London, as well as in Berlin, Milan and Seoul, over three months until 30 June 2024
By Zoe Whitfield Published
-
Monospinal is a Japanese gaming company’s HQ inspired by its product’s world
A Japanese design studio fulfils its quest to take Monospinal, the Tokyo HQ of a video game developer, to the next level
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Spectacular stations: a new book puts railway architecture back on the agenda
‘Station’ takes us through the very best railway architecture of the past 120 years, a sound case for putting more effort into this most civilised forms of transport
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
EMC White Wolf is a military Mercedes turned modern-day cruiser
The Expedition Motor Company (EMC) takes surplus Mercedes G-Wagens and uprates them for contemporary collectors, creating a classic car that goes anywhere
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
CES 2024 was a showcase for how to shoehorn AI into next-generation cars
CES 2024 in Las Vegas underlined that future mobility will be shaped by AI, like it or not, as intelligent assistants emerge to guide, plan and converse with their human cargo
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
80 years of BMW design in a monumental new book
‘BMW: Behind the Scenes’ is billed as the ultimate book on the Bavarian carmaker’s aesthetic history
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Zoute Grand Prix is a car fest like no other at a pristine Belgian beachside town
Amy Serafin takes to the well-heeled streets of Knokke-Heist to experience the Zoute Grand Prix, its annual cavalcade of classic car-related events, from a rally to an auction
By Amy Serafin Published
-
Four new compact camper vans showcase the best in modest mobile home design
Volkswagen, Citroën, Ford and Mercedes-Benz showcase their latest takes on contemporary van living
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Mercedes EQE SUV brings more tech to the fore
Premium electrification means imposing scale and unavoidable technology in the all-conquering Mercedes EQE SUV
By Rory FH Smith Published
-
Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven concept is a convincing mix of futuristic design and technology
The Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven concept gives new electric tech a sleek 1970s-inspired skin, mixing the marque’s expansive heritage with its modern design language
By Guy Bird Published