The awesome Mercedes-Benz F 700 Research Car
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Image Gallery ( 29 images )Tense lines create stretched elegance
The side view is defined by highly tense curves. This is true of the roof contour, but especially of the concise shoulder line: it starts out by continuing the line created by the front wheel arch a short way, and then carries over in a sweeping curve to the rear end. This tense line gives the F 700, painted in ALU-BEAM technique in the color gold, its dynamism and elegance.
The distinctive front fenders likewise are inspired by a current production model, the S-Class. But here again the theme has been taken further and the fenders have been very distinctly sculpted. The side skirts are gently integrated into the flowing forms. The door handles are recessed and the exterior mirrors are little works of art – nothing should unnecessarily resist the flow of air. The 21-inch wheels are designed like turbine blades. Luminescent strips on the wheel arches emphasize the contours and size of the tires. The transparent cover over the rear wheels enhances aerodynamic efficiency.
It is not only the long wheelbase which provides an indication of the unusual, extremely spacious and flexible interior concept – before one even sees the inside. The two large glazed areas in the roof, as a transparent link between inside and out, are suggestive of the inside breadth which the interior conveys. A special feature is the right rear door: whereas the three other doors open conventionally (hinges at the forward edge, handles at the rear), the fourth door is hinged at the rear. This facilitates boarding and leaving for the passenger when the REVERSE seat is positioned opposite the direction of travel.
Despite the futuristic design idiom, the F 700 definitely is a Mercedes-Benz. An essential element of the brand identity is the clear-cut radiator grille, which emphasizes elegance and status. No other manufacturer has refined the radiator grille over the decades with such consistency as Mercedes-Benz.
The headlamp units also clearly follow the styling tradition of Mercedes-Benz. Despite highly innovative elements like laser scanners or LED driving lights they take up the twin-headlamp motif and interpret it in a vertical form with sophisticated stylistic devices. The laser scanners that gather roadway data for the active PRE-SCAN suspension are positioned on the outside. They make the light units veritable eyes of the vehicle: different from any conventional automobile the F 700 “sees” and reads the condition of the road ahead.
Visually separated from the laser scanner by a painted rib is the driving light function employing all LED technology. The light units consisting of linear LED arrays are arranged in two vertical rows. Each linear LED array has a lens superposed. A third vertical row of individual high-performance LEDs functions as daytime driving light. Together with the wraparound contour lights they give the F 700 an unmistakable appearance even by night. The rear end completes the flowing silhouette of the F 700. The C-pillars are drawn far back and the backlight is inserted at a shallow angle. The lightly formed wheel arches and the gently molded trunk lid in turn bridge the gap between the rich history of the Mercedes-Benz brand and its future. The rear end is inspired by the vehicles of the 1940s and 1950s, but is reinterpreted with stylistic devices of the present and future: the tail lights take up the vertical LED light strips of the headlamps, the integral spoiler lip is aerodynamically optimized, and finally the diffusor in the rear apron permits the efficient treatment of air flow.
Interior design: Harmonic balance between technology and nature
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