OUR SPECIAL POST

Mercedes-Benz on the Silverflow - one of the standout designed encountered as part of our coverage of the Los Angeles Design Challenge 2007.The 2057 Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow is Mercedes’ design car for the future showing sleek lines inspired by Mercedes racers of yesteryears. The SilverFlow is crafted from micro- metallic materials which can be arranged by magnetic fields randomly on the car key fob. Sounds cool! It means when you are not driving it, you can melt it down and later re-assemble it with magnetic fields. The Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow can adapt to the conditions and transform its shape to best suit the needs.

The futuristic Silverflow vision comes from the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center of North America in Irvine, California, which is headed by Gorden Wagener. On the surface, the design itself is reminiscent of Grand Prix cars from the 1930s with its drawn out shell and exposed wheels, but the study relies on some thought-provoking “technology of the future” to present its ideas. The shape-changing characteristics would be based on the use of billions of microscopically tiny metallic particles that could be adapted by magnetic fields to form different, yet stable configurations. The potentially limitless variants would be pre-programmed allowing the car to be morphed within a few seconds – parking would become far easier in a car that can make itself smaller, or even be completely dissembled into a pool of ferromagnetic material, and dents could be self-repaired using such a system.

The designers concede that it will be many decades – if at all – before the current two-dimensional graphic could approach reality. This is certainly a creative challenge with this futuristic concept. The SilverFlow reflects our successful motor sports history, while boldly suggesting innovative solutions for the individual mobility of coming generations" .