Mercedes-Benz plans to show up at this month’s Shanghai Auto Show with a brand new concept for a spectacular looking A-Class model. While the Concept A-Class is just what its name says it is – a prototype study - it’s also a very good indication of where the company plans to take its BMW 1-Series and Audi A3 rival with the presentation of the next generation model that is scheduled to go on sale in 2012.

For starters, Mercedes is giving up the minivan-like silhouette of the current A-Class for a more dramatic and sporty looking two-box profile with a long bonnet and a low roof-line. The concept’s exterior design details are heavily influenced by Stuttgart’s most recent prototypes such as the CLS Shooting Brake and especially the F800.

Aside from the new nose with a prominent Mercedes grille, the three-door Concept A-Class also features concave surfaces with sweeping lines throughout the body.

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Inspired by BMW’s costly but cool April Fool’s Day E92 M3 Pickup Truck, Carscoop reader L il-k Amaru drew up a similar design proposal based on the Bavarian sport model’s alter-ego from Stuttgart, the new Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe. Take a look at both renderings after the jump and tell us what you think about Merc concept as well as the ute category in general in the comments section below. Read more »

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Mercedes-Benz showcased its SLS AMG E-Cell concept car at the Detroit Motor Show, however, the big news wasn't the presentation of the all-electric supercar but the announcement that it will enter production within the next couple of years.

"The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-CELL is the most technically advanced super sports car in the 125-year history of the automobile, and shows just how fascinating electromobility can be," said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, at the press conference. "Our customers will be able to order it from their Mercedes-Benz dealers from 2013 onwards."

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For this year's Los Angeles Design Challenge, Mercedes-Benz readied the BIOME, a super lightweight and eco-friendly (more than you could ever image...) sports car. It was created by a design team from the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studios in Carlsbad, California. If you read the press release though, you'll probably think that Mercedes is talking about a cucumber and not a car. Don't believe us? Check out this expert:

"[The team] Taking their inspiration from nature, they designed a vehicle which is fully integrated into the ecosystem, from the moment of its creation right through to the end of its service life. The Mercedes-Benz BIOME grows in a completely organic environment from seeds sown in a nursery. Out on the road the car emits pure oxygen, and at the end of its lifespan it can be simply composted or used as building material."

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Found on web-zine Yanko Design was this mad doggy: the insane (-ly awesome) C.S.V. It stands for Cyborg Sensation Vehicle. Yes, really. Designed by Derek Chik Kin Ng, it'll be hitting dealerships in 2040 and targets "young adventurous professionals".

Inspiration came from Mercedes's F400 concept, which is also viewable in the gallery below. It foreshadows a fully integrated driver/vehicle interface, providing "driving...by thinking".

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This right here is the Gazal-1. It's based on the Mercedes-Benz G-Class and was built by engineering students at King Saud University. Here's where I'd usually bore you with the project's mission as read in a press release, but let's keep this one simple.

The Gazal is named after gazelles (I see it!), apparently a creature commonly found living in Saudi Arabia. It kind of looks like a G-Class at an FJ Cruiser. Can't you just see this thing bounding over dunes and through malls?

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The latest in Mercedes' F X00 research series is called the Style. Can you guess what they're concentrating on? Clearly it looks good, and probably foreshadows where the next CLS is going (or possibly the rumored C-baby CLS).Here's what it is: the F800 Style is a CLS-like hybrid concept that Mercedes claims can hit 100km/h in 4.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 250 km/h (155mph). Quick. As for efficient?

Just because it's meant to foreshadow future design themes, that doesn't mean it's not green. After all, this is Geneva and we're all living in the 21st century.

That means its power train consists of a 272-horse V6 connected to a 109-horsepower electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery that can be recharged at home (or at those recharging stations all these other plug-ins use). Much like other electric motors, output here has been limited; actual output is around 136 horsepower.

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The first official photos of the Mercedes-Benz F800 Style 'four-door coupe' study surfaced online today ahead of the concept model's official world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show on March 2.

The new concept model serves two purposes: first, it samples Mercedes-Benz's new and more dynamic design language that will be first applied on the next-generation CLS sports saloon, which is expected later this year, and second, it is believed to preview a smaller brother to the CLS.

If Mercedes-Benz goes ahead and produces the CLC, the four-door saloon with the coupe-like roofline and aggressive stance will most probably slot between the C-Class and E-Class models in terms of size and pricing.

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As much as we'd all like, it's extremely hard from a financial and time point of view for most of us to travel around the world visiting automobile museums like the one Mercedes-Benz has in Stuttgart, Germany. And until we find the resources (time is a problem easier solved...) to do so, a photo tour is probably the next best option we have.

Designed by the UNStudio of Dutch architects van Berkel and Bos, Amsterdam, the museum building's interior styling is inspired by the double helix structure of the DNA spiral that carries the human genome.

Located directly outside the factory gates at Mercedes-Benz's parent plant in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, the automaker's museum presents 160 vehicles and over 1,500 exhibits spanning from the 19th century to today on nine different levels and covering a floor space of 16,500 square meters.

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