The late Virgil Abloh and Mercedes-Benz created a solar-powered car with a transparent front hood

[Celerity]

https://www.dezeen.com/2021/12/01/virgil-abloh-mercedes-benz-electric-maybach-car-transparent-hood/





German car brand Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a solar-cell-powered electric car designed with fashion designer Virgil Abloh, who passed away last weekend. The show car, which was unveiled during Miami art week with the blessing of Abloh's family, is described as "a design unlike anything that has been developed by Mercedes-Benz".





Created together with Mercedez-Benz chief design officer Gorden Wagener, every element of the car was built from scratch, the brand said. The nearly six-metre long show car was designed with a transparent front bonnet, underneath which sits solar cells that would be used to charge the battery.





The battery operated "off-the-road coupe" seats two people and was inspired by the great outdoors. Project Maybach "combines huge Gran Turismo proportions, large off-road wheels and distinctive attachements," Mercedes-Benz said.The car was designed by Abloh, collaboratively with Wagener, as a "responsible vision of future design."





The project was unveiled during Miami art week, which features events including Art Basel Miami Beach and Design Miami fairs. Abloh, a prolific fashion designer who has previously worked on Mercedes-Benz' Geländewagen car, passed away last weekend at the age of 41 from an aggressive form of cancer. His latest Mercedes-Benz collaboration, which was scheduled for 1 December, went ahead with the blessing of his family. Instead of a press event, the brand is showing Project Maybach at Miami's Rubell Museum from 1 to 2 December.

[Captain Zero]

1. Is it a car or a truck? No one's decided yet?

Also seems like maybe they could just put George Jetson in the driver' s seat for a few photos.
It's off road. I guess it's a truck.

[Celerity]

2. car

[LunaSea]

3. The cars of the future

always seemed to look better in the past.

Of course, this is not a car it's an "art project".
And the most hideously impractical thing I'm likely to see this week.
(so...thanks?)

It's not so much the style, that's just a difference in taste.
But the absolute lack of anything resembling one of the most important aspects of any vehicle.

Ya'know the engineering part.

Hope that compass on the dash pops out and fits in a pocket. That driver will need it when he hoofs it back to civilization.

[Celerity]

4. Virgil Abloh designs race-car version of Mercedes‑Benz G‑Class

https://www.dezeen.com/2020/09/09/project-gelandewagen-virgil-abloh-mercedes%e2%80%91benz-g%e2%80%91class-car/











Fashion designer Virgil Abloh has teamed up with Mercedes Benz to create a conceptual version of the Mercedes‑Benz G‑Class car called Project Geländewagen. Abloh and Mercedes-Benz chief design officer Gorden Wagener's one-off redesign of the four-wheel drive luxury SUV, which dates back to the 1970s, reinterprets the vehicle as a race car.









Project Geländewagen retains the G‑Class's iconic boxy form but is lower and wider to give it a more sporty look. The exterior was painted white and sanded by hand to emphasis its monolithic shape. Other adaptations to the traditional design include the removal of indicators, outside mirrors and bumper bar.







"With Project Geländewagen we create a unique artwork that showcases future interpretations of luxury and the desire for beauty and the extraordinary," said Wagener. "The result is something between reality and future." The stripped-back aesthetic continues with the design of the interior where the dashboard is reduced and fitted with analogue speedometer and fuel gauges. A safety frame, which was coloured baby blue has been added, while bold red pops were used to give the design a racing aesthetic. The five-point seat belts are also bright red and emblazoned with the designers' surnames – Abloh and Wagener.









"The collaboration with Virgil has seen two distinct design philosophies unite, for a one-of-a-kind re-imagination of the G that continues to celebrate the extraordinary at its core," Wagener added. Mercedes‑Benz G‑Class, also known as G-Wagen, was first created to be a military vehicle in 1972 at the request of the Shah of Persia. It was turned into civilian version in 1979, and has been redesigned a number of times in the years since.