Mercedes-Benz has unveiled what maybe its future A-Class, at the ongoing Shanghai Motorshow. Dubbed the Mercedes-Benz Concept A Sedan, the car forgoes the German automaker’s current design language for one that features more elegant and curvy contours.
“Our Concept A Sedan shows, that the time of creases is over”, say Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer Daimler AG. “With its perfect proportions and a sensual treatment of surfaces with reduced lines, it is the next milestone of Sensual Purity and has the potential to introduce a new design era.”
The Concept A Sedan measures 4570mm long, 1870mm wide and 1462mm high and features proportions that are similar in some ways to the current CLA but graced with a whole new front end. Unlike the current car, the concept has a prominent ‘Panamericana’ grille that is tilted towards the front and features vertical chrome inserts with the iconic star dominating the front. The bonnet is a little flatter and features two dome like structures that add to the muscular appearance. The door handles sit flush with the body which should aid aero efficiency.
The headlamps are sleeker than the ones on the current generation cars as it starts from each end of the grille and tappers off towards the wheel arches reminiscent of the GT Gran Turismo. The car’s grid structure in the headlamps are coated with UV paint and exposed to ultraviolet light. As such, the headlamps “glow” in different colours, depending on the light medium – the daytime running lamps, for instance, are white. This same lighting technology is also used for the rear. The large lower air inlet has a diamond grid structure and trim strip finished in dark chrome.
Things are pretty neat at the rear end too, as Mercedes-Benz has chosen a more subtle approach for the design. Similar to the current CLA, the lights take on sharp prominent contours that end toward the number plate. The rear bumper’s diffuser-look lower part is trimmed in black and has a chrome trim strip and the exhaust deflectors are finished in dark chrome.
The side windows are large and darkened to improve privacy while the large panoramic glass roof provides an airy feeling to the entire cabin. The wheel arches are wide and less pronounced to accommodate the 20-inch lightweight alloy wheels. The design features a swept blade look that have structures surfaces between the spokes.
The Current A-Class is very important to the automaker as it accounts for a substantial chunk of its yearly revenue. It has sold more than two million compact vehicles to date and with the introduction of this new radical design language, Mercedes-Benz is hoping to bolster its impressive sales figures even further. As of now, models that make up MB’s compact car line-up are the A and B-Class, CLA and CLA Shooting Brake as well as the GLA, which is its SUV crossover.
Whether or not This new design language is incorporated into the next A-Class remains to be seen but if it does, we won’t complain.
