Ocean Drive a true luxury liner

Do you belong to the pimp daddy/baggy-trousered hip-hop artist brigade? Then you'll be needing one of these in the New Year…

Say hello to the blinged-out Mercedes-Benz Concept Ocean Drive design study, due to star at the imminent North American International Auto Show (which bursts into life in Detroit on Jan 7). The three-pointed star is billing the four-door Ocean Drive as the "most comfortable and elegant modern-day convertible".

Merc's boffins chose to use as its basis the V12-powered S600 sedan, which means the concept sports a long wheelbase, as well as the raft of safety gear including Brake Assist PLUS, the PRE-SAFE brake system (in combination with radar-based DISTRONIC PLUS) and the PRE-SAFE anticipatory occupant protection system.

The concept is claimed to have a soft-top mechanism with "fast closing times", although the exact second count hasn't been divulged. It also comes with the SLK's AIRSCARF neck-level heating system (featured on all four seats), which means occupants won't have icicles hanging off their earlobes when cruising topless in winter.

Mercedes says the fact that the Ocean Drive is a one-off (meaning no restrictive design brief or production specifications) left the designers free to get on with the job. The manufacturer points out (quite rightly) that, as a four-door convertible, the concept "belongs in a luxury genre that has almost disappeared from our roads."

Merc says the one-off special has an all-new body, but there's some obvious parallels with the S-Class and new CL coupe.

Apart from its unusual four-door ragtop configuration, the Ocean Drive's key visual elements include a large, upright radiator grille, LED headlamps and tail-lights, two-tone paintwork and a "striking interplay between taut lines and large, restful surfaces".

Note the lack of a B-pillar and window frames, which Merc says "ensures seamless continuity between the exterior and the interior, even when the top is up".

The maker also boasts of "extensive use of high-value materials -- such as finest-quality leather, 3D-effect materials and large bird's eye maple trim panels (in the interior and even on the soft-top compartment cover) -- and many other thoughtfully designed interior details, highlight the luxurious, unique character of this design study".

So, is there any chance the Ocean Drive will eventually make it to showrooms?

Mercedes is hedging its bets for now, saying on the one hand that it's a pure design study, but adding that it's "also a way of stimulating a closer dialogue with customers and of trying out new ideas on the general public."

"This helps the designers get a feel for future styling trends and to develop and implement new design idioms," says Merc.

What this means is that the Ocean Drive is essentially a 'suck-it-and-see' exercise. A positive public response to the concept may well result in a production version gracing showrooms by the end of the decade.