Mercedes Previews Next-Gen Small Car Design

Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz unit will launch its new “Aesthetics A” compact car design treatment next year on the next-generation A-Class.

The carmaker previewed the styling, which could affect as many as eight models, at an event this week in Sindelfingen, Germany, with a sculpted mock-up of the new A-Class. The successors to the current B-Class, CLA, CLA, Shooting Brake and GLA also are candidates for the new look.

Design chief Gorden Wagener describes the styling as “very sporty and aggressive” with rounder contours and smoother surfaces than current models. Highlights include an elongated “Panamericana" grille with teeth-like grates that replaces the current trapezoidal configuration.

The prominence of today’s profile creases also will be de-emphasized. The intent, Wagener says, is to create a “sensual purity” that strips a car’s appearance down to its “essential body.”

The A-Class was last overhauled in 2012 with a radical design change that Wagener implemented throughout the carmaker’s lineup, helping to transform the marque’s stodgy image to sporty style. That cycle was completed with the 2017 E-Class full-size sedan.