DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: E-Class Coupe debuts new design

Mercedes-Benz gave the world the first in-the-metal look at the next evolution of its sensual purity design language when it rolled out the smooth-skinned E-Class Coupe at the Detroit motor show overnight.

Benz chief design officer Gordon Wagener, who has copped plenty of criticism for the ‘me too’ styling of many of the models produced under his leadership, has made no bones about his attitude toward the look.

“It’s probably the most beautiful E-coupe ever,” he told Australian automotive media at a roundtable.

And he hasn’t shirked from saying what he thinks about the models following.

“What will come in the next years is pretty stunning,” he declared.

The key feature of the E-Class coupe’s styling is the absence of character lines -- something Wagener says will flow on into other Benzes, contradicting more complex designs emerging from other automotive brands.

“The E-coupe you … see in Detroit is a completely clean car, the first car that has no lines,” Wagener declared.

Wagener says character lines often hide bad car design, so going without them means the fundamental proportions of the body has to be right.

“The proportion of the car is the most important, for me. Proportion of design is 70 per cent, especially if you want to take stuff out, which we do with sensual purity.

“And so with that we are very different to the mainstream market right now, which puts stuff on their cars. Lines and lines and lines are all over the place.

“I think at least we have the opinion that for us a higher approach is to take stuff out.

“It is more difficult to take stuff out than simply throw stuff on it, because when you have a bad proportion you have to do that, you have to camouflage, you have to structure the stuff by putting stuff on.”

Wagener says the body of the E-Class Coupe has been shaped to catch the light and use that to highlight its look, rather than resort to character lines.

The one line he did concede the car used is a 'bone' line, which is a tightly radiused shoulder running from the front to the rear of the bodywork.

“There is a bone line, which is of course not a line, it’s a bone,” Wagener explained. “That structures the side of the car and goes into this beautiful rear coke bottle shape -- sexy shape.”

Wagener made it clear smooth bodies would be in vogue on future Benz passenger cars and SUVs.

Sensual purity has now been on public display for more than three years, debuting with the latest S-Class and third-generation A-Class.

“We go pure, pure, pure,” Wagener insisted. “Every car goes a bit on the next stage.

“Let’s say you cannot do all the cars completely clean. Most of the time it works when you have a sports car with the lower shoulder line. It’s better for the structure.”

Wagener said the new EQ electric vehicle brand would take the ‘pure’ ethos to a new level.

“What’s even purer that pure? Seamless. So the car is completely seamless. Everything is very flush and that makes it very tech looking.”

Wagener was dismissive of the criticism levelled at the familiar look of the Benz family of cars, pointing out record sales as vindication and claiming only the automotive media saw the styling as an issue.

“There is no problem from the customer point of view,” Wagener claimed.

“He doesn’t see the range, he doesn’t think to buy an S-Class, an E-Class or a C-Class.

“He has a budget he wants to spend and he is looking around and he can choose this, this or that.

“For me, most important was to establish a style that is so unique for the brand that embodies everything we want to see with this brand, and of course you have to spread it over the entire line-up.

“We have such a big number of products, of course, they become more similar, automatically.

“There is so much restrictions; the headlamps, grille, the architectures. It’s not like free art right?”