How do you interpret "modern luxury" when consumer
electronics change every 18 months but a luxury car has to last 15
years?
That was the challenge facing the designers of the next
Mercedes-Benz E-Class interior, and their answer was to blend recognizably
Mercedes design cues with a fully digital "glass dashboard" that
stretches almost two-thirds the width of the cabin.
While the next E-Class hasn't (quite) been revealed
yet--it'll appear at the Detroit Auto Show next month--there have been plenty
of spy photos to show that the car will have a shape similar to that of the
latest S-Class and C-Class sedans.
But inside, the E-Class has to break new ground, and convey
both the latest in information design and a level of luxury one step above the
C-Class.
To do that, the designers blended "intelligent"
with "emotional" design, starting with the "double-S"
wraparound dash design with a center section that swells slightly into the cabin.
They used four circular chrome-ringed vent outlets--one more
than the three in lesser sedans--and one more at each end.
But it's the "dashboard" display that catches the
eye, under an eyebrow housing that stretches from the driver's door well to the
passenger's side of the console.
In it are a pair of horizontal 12.1-inch LCD displays that
butt together, with two large virtual dials in front of the driver and a
somewhat simplified version of Mercedes' usual infotainment and navigation interface
on the center section.
This wide display doesn't stand proud of the dash, as in the
sportier CLA, but a faint echo of that freestanding design can be seen in the
edge detailing, where the screen appears to float just in front of the dash
itself.
And for the first time, drivers can choose not only what
information they want to see displayed in the various segments of the dash, but
also the graphic style of the displays themselves.
Three graphic styles are deemed Classic (an updated version
of traditional Mercedes style), Sport (with matte colors and sportier
textures), and Progressive, whose gridlike displays and luminescent colors
approach a science-fiction look.
The designers, said Koert Groeneveld, added details to the
interior to convey a sort of sensual luxury in some of the little touches.
The seats, for instance, were inspired by old dress forms.
They have actual "shoulder" lines that almost appear human-shaped
from certain angles. The cushion upholstery narrows and widens with the curves
of the bolsters, far from the traditional square-cut Mercedes seats of yore.
A traditional black interior is available, of course, but
color choices extend beyond the traditional beiges and grays. Saddle brown
leather, a tone called espresso, and more can be combined with a range of
interior trims, from a open-pore wood to a tight basket weave of metal strands,
all the way up to a pinstriped glossy black finish.
At the top of a range of three audio systems, there's a
stunning Burmeister setup producing 1450 watts that feed no fewer than 23
speakers.
With the four doors shut, the sound quality of this system
was remarkable; the interior designers and engineers from Mercedes worked with
the Burmeister acoustic engineers from a very early stage.
source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1101316_2017-mercedes-benz-e-class-interior-revealed-all-glass-dash-display
by John Voelcker
http://www.boscheuropean.com
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