“A star on the golf course” An Excerpt about the Mercedes-Benz Style Edition Garia Golf Car an Interview with Gorden Wagener
Stuttgart. Vehicles with Mercedes-Benz design are already to be seen on water, on land and in the air. Now they will also be seen on golf courses. As a “real sports car”, the Mercedes-Benz Style Edition Garia Golf Car authentically transfers the unmistakable Mercedes-Benz automobile design idiom of sensual purity to a premium-class golf cart. The showcar is the result of cooperation between Mercedes-Benz designers, Daimler’s Think & Act Tank Business Innovation and the well-known golf cart manufacturer Garia.
The Mercedes-Benz Style Edition Garia Golf Car defines a new class of transport for the golf course. Gorden Wagener, Head of Design at Daimler AG: “We have reinvented the world of the golf cart with our Mercedes-Benz Golf Car. Mercedes-Benz stands for modern luxury, and golf is an authentic part of that theme. Transferring our automotive design idiom to the Golf Car is, therefore, something quite natural, and in doing so we have created a product that is both sensual and pure.”
Dr. Jens Thiemer, Vice President Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars: “With the Mercedes-Benz Style Edition Garia Golf Car we are offering a high-end golf cart which is absolutely unique and was specifically developed for sporting golfers and the sport they enjoy.” Our communication bears the lighthearted slogan “a real sports car”.
“Our golf car stands for modern luxury” – Interview with Gorden Wagener by Daimler Communications
From your point of view, what is it that makes Mercedes Benz vehicle design so successful? Our design is hot and cool. Our design philosophy of sensual purity combines beauty with intelligence, defining the modern luxury for which the Mercedes-Benz brand stands.
How does your design philosophy of sensual purity manifest itself in the
Golf Car? Transferring our automotive design idiom to the Golf Car was something quite natural, and in doing so we have c
reated a product that is both sensual and pure. A very emotional and sensual form combined with intelligent technical details. One example is the tablet, which allows the occupants access to all the necessary information.
What is your favourite feature of the Golf Car? That is difficult to say. For me the Golf Car is an overall composition with which we
have reinvented the world of the golf cart. Everything fits together, the proportions, the surfaces, the headlamps, the interior, the details. In the interior we have created something of a mobile lounge, with a new, interactive design on a touchpad where I can run both my golf software and the vehicle software.
What does the concept of modern luxury have to do with the Golf Car? Mercedes-Benz stands for modern luxury, and golf is an authentic part of that theme. It is a very active sport, but also very luxurious.
What do you think of the 2013 design competition? We received a phenomenal response to this competition for the design of a golf cart – quite wonderful suggestions, proposals and designs. This was the starting gun for this project, so to speak, and logical in terms of the relationship between Mercedes-Benz as a vehicle manufacturer and our commitment to golf. And we have managed to reinvent the golf cart as the Golf Car. The first conceptual phase already took into account that golf carts need to have certain characteristic features in view of the available space on golf courses. They must be narrower and shorter, but also higher than conventional automobiles. The front and rear overhangs must be very short in the interests of interior spaciousness within a compact overall length. The unusual proportions that resulted are still harmonious thanks to the design expertise of Mercedes-Benz Style. The designers have also been able to blend the exterior and interior into a formal unit.
For more about the “real sports car”, please visit www.garia.com/about/about-garia
