It was quite a stage play for Mercedes-Benz in Geneva! During the press conference in Switzerland, the starred brand displayed no less than six models. And they started out in a dash. The first to show up on the Swiss stage was the Mercedes-AMG GT3, on its first public display.
The Mercedes-AMG GT3 was Dieter Zetsche’s ride in Geneva. The Daimler CEO started the press conference at the Geneva Motor Show with a joke: “Head of the show, we thought about giving you ear plugs for the entrance of the GT3. But there is nothing sweeter than the AMG music to make sure everybody is awake”, he said.
With faster lap times, lighter weight and more aggressive looks than its predecessors, there is no wonder the front end design was called the shark nose. But Zetsche doesn’t mind.
“This car was designed to take a bite out of its rivals”, he claims and with the motorsport genes in their DNA, the Mercedes defending champions in Formula 1 also look like they are really hungry this upcoming season, too.
Next in line in Geneva was the new GLE Coupe: “Strong SUV genes that derive from our legendary G-Class, driving dynamics and performance combined with 30 years of experience with our 4Matic all-wheel drive system. This is the sportiest SUV”, Zetsche praises the bright red vehicle coming onto the stage. “The GLE 63 AMG Coupe – he says – is the car for people who want to add a racetrack feeling to their daily driving.” And with 585 HP and a top speed of 250 km/h, electronically limited, it might do just that!
Planning on getting 10 more plug-in hybrids by 2017, Mercedes-Benz presented the C 350 Plug-In Hybrid in Geneva. Professor Thomas Weber came along with the car.
It is already the second hybrid model from Mercedes-Benz. With an impressive fuel consumption figure of only 2,1 l/100 km, the limousine that follows the steps of the S-Class Plug-In Hybrid, putting together efficiency and dynamics. “Winning a race starts in your head”, says Professor Weber, hoping that Mercedes-Benz is going to also win the sales race.
And then the V-Class came along and the Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans Department, Volker Mornhinweg, came out of the executive seats. The van with limousine qualities was parked on a spinning platform and kept spinning while Mornhinweg was delivering his speech. This past May, the letter added in the Mercedes-Benz alphabet to match Vitality and Vision. The V-Class Plug-In Hybrid can run 50 km on electrical propulsion only.
Mercedes-Benz kept the best for last. Introduced by Olla Kallenius, it was the Mercedes-Maybach one of the last vehicles to take center stage in Geneva, in its first European public display.
Next to the Maybach, the S 600 Pullman parked. The Pullman was the vehicle of choice for monarchs, popes and heads of state. Elvis Presley, Liz Taylor, Coco Channel, Jack Nicholson and John Lennon had one in the ‘60s.
With 6.5 meters (by almost a meter longer than the usual Maybach) of pure luxury, it is “a car equally appealing to a head of a state or to a rock star,” Dieter Zetsche hopes.
The Daimler CEO ended the press conference in Geneva with an appeal to potential customers: “We have some of the biggest and smallest cars in the market. And we have attractive choices in between.”
