CES 2007: Alpine debuts the Mercedes RLS
UPDATE: Click here for Alpine's unveiling of the RLS
Click the image above for a full gallery.
Alpine is well known for their great-sounding home and car electronics. They're also known for their, um, shockingly overdone show cars. You might remember last year's Sinister Six. This year Alpine started with a Mercedes R350 on which to build a showcase their new gadgets. Gary Bell looked to the CLS's roofline as inspiration for the beginnings of Alpine's RLS. From there he borrowed from Bentley and other classic marques for design cues trying to keep this year's car as classy as possible. "We started out saying we wouldn't do anything on this car we wouldn't do on a Bentley," a proud Gary said immediately after the unveiling. The radically altered R class rides on 30" wheels wrapped with Pirelli rubber.
Make the jump for the rest of the story.
Be sure to check out the gallery for 50 images of the RLS.
For entry, Gary and his team took the suicide door idea to the next level. Instead of two doors opening opposite and out, there is only one door per side that pivots inward, allowing access to the two front seats. Control over the steering and electronics is located in a central hub between the front seats. Alpine integrated the vehicle with it's Imprint module, which takes sound readings from around the cabin of any car to perfecty tailor the sound system.
The builders stripped the R350 to the basic frame before beginning the build, being careful to leave all the Mercedes drivetrain and electronics intact. "I'm not a Mercedes mechanic," Gary said. They did, however, choose to remove the electronics from the car's ride-leveling system. While the suspension air bags are still installed, ride leveling is totally manual control and must be used to raise the car an inch to let the tucked front wheels steer lock to lock.
We overheard Gary telling someone else at the unveiling that he spent the previous night in Vegas polishing his baby until 4 a.m. "Then we had someone from Meguiars come in and polish it more," he said. "This is by far my favorite car I've ever touched."
While maybe not as classy as the CLS from which it was inspired, it is definitely an improvement over last year's monstrosity.
Click the image above for a full gallery.
Alpine is well known for their great-sounding home and car electronics. They're also known for their, um, shockingly overdone show cars. You might remember last year's Sinister Six. This year Alpine started with a Mercedes R350 on which to build a showcase their new gadgets. Gary Bell looked to the CLS's roofline as inspiration for the beginnings of Alpine's RLS. From there he borrowed from Bentley and other classic marques for design cues trying to keep this year's car as classy as possible. "We started out saying we wouldn't do anything on this car we wouldn't do on a Bentley," a proud Gary said immediately after the unveiling. The radically altered R class rides on 30" wheels wrapped with Pirelli rubber.
Make the jump for the rest of the story.
Be sure to check out the gallery for 50 images of the RLS.
For entry, Gary and his team took the suicide door idea to the next level. Instead of two doors opening opposite and out, there is only one door per side that pivots inward, allowing access to the two front seats. Control over the steering and electronics is located in a central hub between the front seats. Alpine integrated the vehicle with it's Imprint module, which takes sound readings from around the cabin of any car to perfecty tailor the sound system.
The builders stripped the R350 to the basic frame before beginning the build, being careful to leave all the Mercedes drivetrain and electronics intact. "I'm not a Mercedes mechanic," Gary said. They did, however, choose to remove the electronics from the car's ride-leveling system. While the suspension air bags are still installed, ride leveling is totally manual control and must be used to raise the car an inch to let the tucked front wheels steer lock to lock.
We overheard Gary telling someone else at the unveiling that he spent the previous night in Vegas polishing his baby until 4 a.m. "Then we had someone from Meguiars come in and polish it more," he said. "This is by far my favorite car I've ever touched."
While maybe not as classy as the CLS from which it was inspired, it is definitely an improvement over last year's monstrosity.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Tommy 4:13PM (1/08/2007)
i hope the rear brakes are fake, otherwise they're awfuly small!
Reply
PJ 7:41PM (1/08/2007)
So... it's a jet-powered Stout Scarab?
http://www.indiacar.com/infobank/stout.htm
Reply
bassmanjoe83 4:46PM (1/08/2007)
Looks like Wilford Brimley....
Reply
bob 4:53PM (1/08/2007)
the project should have stopped when they saw the sketches
Reply
AMG Mercedes-Benz | Greg 4:54PM (1/08/2007)
Nice looking ride! Maybe Alpine should be involved with the design of Mercedes-Benz in 2007!
Reply
W 9:42AM (1/09/2007)
That thing in the back looks like a gross bellybutton.
Reply
bassmanjoe83 4:58PM (1/08/2007)
Looks like Wilford Brimley....
Reply
GDUB 5:02PM (1/08/2007)
Holey mother of moses. That is the ugly stick. With 30 inch rims you would think that they would have grabbed some garbage can lids for brake rotors.
Reply
whofan 5:05PM (1/08/2007)
Chrysler airflow reborn?
Reply
kingvolcano 5:17PM (1/08/2007)
How do you say JUNK in German?
Reply
firemillen2 5:20PM (1/08/2007)
I can't believe Mercedes would allow their logo on this monstrosity. What a wreck.
Reply
Tim UF 5:23PM (1/08/2007)
I'm all for hires photography of concept cars, but for the love of all things auto... please give some zoomed out shots that include the up-close shots...
The shot of the aluminum pedals (?) coming up out of the brown suede floor is a good example of this... theres no other pic showing those little metal antennae sticking up; leaving the veiwer to hazard a guess as to what exactly they are (super narrow gas and brake pedals, maybe?)
otherwise, interesting concept... it may be one of the first cars that can show it is aroused with that large cylinder protrouding out the back...
Reply
Turbofrog 5:31PM (1/08/2007)
That is possibly the worst styled vehicle I have ever seen. It makes a lot of those bizarre Chinese concepts look downright cohesive.
Reply
John P. 5:42PM (1/08/2007)
What kind of drugs were used in the design of this beast? seriously, this thing should be shot, put out of it's misery. I'm all for exploring how far you can go in a design, but even Dr. Suess would find this bad.
Reply
whofan 9:13PM (1/09/2007)
The Chrysler Airflow lives!
Reply
rodri 6:11PM (1/08/2007)
the designer clearly wanted to shock people so they would notice this "car". too bad he had to do it in such a pathetic way. anyway, you americans are supposed to love it. after all it has big rims and thats all that matters to you.
Reply
John P. 6:28PM (1/08/2007)
rodri rodri rodri, get over yourself.
Reply
Otto Ingineer 6:27PM (1/08/2007)
To Autoblog --I thoroughly second #5 (Tim UF)comments - too many of the galleries are "zoom-happy" memory card dumps. A couple of well-framed *full-image* pictures are often much more useful than a random collage of tiny details. Besides, most of those tiny details won't ever make it to production, some elements of an overall shape/concept just might.
Reply
ScottyC 7:19AM (1/09/2007)
So rodri, if it had an anemic diesel, barely fit one adult, weighed as much as a mailbox, and crumpled like a tin can when it crashes into something it would make you happy?
Don't think that everyone in America likes 30" rims and SUVs the size of England and 5mpg V8 engines. We are a diverse culture. Something that you may want to look into.
Reply
Hello 9:30PM (1/08/2007)
That's nothing short of disgusting. Mercedes and Alpine should both be ashamed that this monstrosity was shown.
Reply