Daimler is in attack mode in China. The company has invested $140 million in a new research and development center there, the heart of which is an advanced design studio that will be taken over next year by Hubert Lee, who currently heads the studio in Carlsbad, California.
With this investment, the company aims to catch up with Audi and BMW, and the Vision G-Code concept car is a symbol of this charge forward. At first glance, the compact hatchback seems unspectacular; its soft shape and subdued lines fit in well with Daimler's current styling language as defined by the C- and S-classes. At 161.4 inches long, 59.1 inches tall, and 74.8 inches wide, it is sized just like today's popular compact crossovers.
Standing on 21-inch wheels with carbon-fiber spokes, the G-Code is fitted with an electrically powered roof rack and LED headlights that extend and move like the lens of a compact camera when activated. The daytime running lights mimic the shape of a "G" like on the 2012 Ener-G-Force concept, but inverted.
It may look like it would fit right into today's traffic, but the G-Code is far more visionary than you might think. The front is dominated by a fake "grille" that uses lighting effects to inform bystanders about which mode of propulsion is currently in use. It is supposed to remind us of the starship Enterprise's "warp drive," says Daimler. However, Daimler's concept is powered by a front-mounted hydrogen-fueled internal-combustion engine and a rear electric motor.
At standstill, the grille is lighted blue. When driven on electricity only, the blue light moves inwards, and in hybrid mode, the color turns purple. In Hybrid Sport mode, the illumination is bright red, and the "stars" move outwards. It's not a warp drive, and it's about as realistic. Daimler hastens to assure us that no hydrogen IC engine is close to series production.
The G-Code can take in energy through the most curious ways. The paint doesn't only function like a solar cell, it can also make use of wind energy. And the energy from the movements of the hydraulic chassis can be harnessed as well.
The interior is perhaps even more futuristic. You enter through regular front and "suicide" rear doors—there is no B-pillar—that can be activated by a smartphone; once ensconced, the entire dashboard moves into place, the steering wheel unfolds, and the air vents magically appear. A lot of smartphone functions can be displayed on the dash.
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Daimler speaks of "quite fantastical aspects" of the G-Code, and talks about how it introduces ideas that even "our grandchildren might consider state of the art." Let's hope the refreshingly unaggressive aesthetic makes it into series production before that.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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