Mercedes-Benz design has reached the next level. The wild surface treatment of the current A-class is history, and the next generation will feature smoother lines and a more purist appearance. At a press event in Sindelfingen, Germany, Daimler opened up its design department to show us the company?s design process?and a few ideas for its future direction, which chief designer Gorden Wagener summarizes as ?sensual purity.?
The event was crowned by the unveiling of a sculpture that provided a fairly accurate hint at the next generation of the A-class. It’s no mistake that the red metallic sculpture seems to hide a four-door notchback sedan: The company is preparing just such a model, and it is destined for the U.S. market, where sedans sell better than hatchbacks (unless those hatchbacks are called crossovers). The A-class sedan will join several other models built atop the same front-wheel-drive platform, known as MFA2. There will also be an A-class hatchback, a CLA-class, a GLA-class, another B-class, and a rugged-looking crossover SUV that could be called GLB and that will resemble the 2012 Ener-G-Force, downsized to fit the compact platform’s size.
We saw the A-class sedan at a recent safety-related event in Daimler?s new crash center in Sindelfingen. Although it was fully covered to be protected from curious onlookers, the short trunk and the pronounced molded-in rear spoiler were clearly visible. While the A-class sedan?s flanks feature smooth lines, ther...