Mercedes Press Release:
Three number-one places : The readers of the Motor Klassik trade journal elect the Mercedes-Benz CLS, SL and G models as classics-to-be
Runners-up : Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, Maybach 57/62 and smart fortwo
The CLS, SL and G-Class from Mercedes-Benz are classics-to-be. According to the votes of the readers of the Motor Klassik trade journal, these cars are the number one in their respective categories, upper medium class, convertibles and offroaders.
Other models from the Mercedes Car Group finished
in second place: the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren in the category of sports cars, the Maybach 57/62 in the luxury class and the smart fortwo in the category of mini cars. This means that the Mercedes Car Group is represented with the largest number of models in this renowned readers’ election. This year, the classics-to-be awards will be presented in the Opel Forum in Rüsselsheim on June 14, 2007.
Mercedes Benz sees these awards as a special distinction especially for the design of the
respective cars, and of course for the brand as such. Alongside all the other qualities, the looks of a car impact its perception by the public and are crucial when it comes to the question as to whether a car will remain outstanding beyond its lifecycle. At Mercedes-Benz, design always combines high aesthetic quality with great practicality.
Peter Pfeiffer, Chief Designer for the Mercedes-Benz brand: “It is of course highly gratifying for us to receive so many awards this year as every distinction testifies to the appreciation by our customers and the public at large. We are
particularly pleased about the distinction for the CLS which, for us as well, interprets the design of an automotive icon from the last century, the 300 SL, in a contemporary style.”
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL was launched into the market in 1954. With its elegant sports car body, its characteristic gullwing doors and, of course, its outstanding engineering and top-class performance, it quickly became the dream car of its day and age – and at the same time an icon of automotive history. Few other cars have been – and are – intriguing people as much as the 300 SL.
The Mercedes-Benz CLS ties up to this great tradition, combining the advantages of a four-door sedan with the elegant design of a coupe. This is expressed by every facet of its design but most distinctively by its side view. The low roof line, inconspicuously integrated rear doors and generously large bodywork surfaces combine into an entity that provides impressive evidence of the Mercedes-Benz designers’ skills – a mobile sculpture of our day and age.
The G-Class as another classic-to-be demonstrates that good design outlives fashionable trends and is timeless. Production of the G-Class began in 1979. After 28 years, it is one of the cars with the longest production run in automotive history. And it is mobile evidence of a successful
combination of maximum practicality with unostentatious but highly effective design.
The letters “SL” stand for a long tradition of building sporty and light cars at Mercedes-Benz. Following on from the 300 SL of 1954, which was a coupe initially, an impressive lineup of convertibles was designed all of which deserve the epithet “dream car” both in their day and age and in subsequent years. The SL elected by the readers this year discreetly but effectively quotes styling elements of its predecessors while being a completely independent design – a true classic-to-be.
Value appeal: Classics and value-retention champions
Alongside the design, every Mercedes-Benz boasts a set of well-balanced properties. In a Mercedes-Benz, people travel safely and comfortably, and outstanding engineering is working underneath the bodywork. These classic virtues are joined by stability of financial value. In the majority of market segments throughout the world, the brand’s passenger cars are those which fetch the highest resale prices. This is based on people’s trust in the brand’s values: innovative engineering, sophisticated design and maximum durability.
The epithet of “value-retention champions” is not only attributed to the contemporary range of Mercedes-Benz cars, from mid-sized to luxury class. Classics-to-be and above all the veteran and vintage cars with the Mercedes star on the hood rank among the models with the greatest stability of value in their respective eras. And prices are rising as the demand for Mercedes-Benz classics is growing continuously. Immaterial values such as aesthetic appeal, charisma and historical significance are embodied by classic Mercedes-Benz cars from all eras as a matter of course.
The up-to-date classics-to-be are heading towards a bright future. The company is therefore particularly happy about these distinctions, accepting them as both impressive evidence of competence and an incentive to continue designing equally sophisticated cars in the future.
