Mercedes Benz Releases New Pics With The IAA Shape-Shifting Concept

Remember Mercedes’ shape-shifting concept presented at the Geneva Motor Show? Well, the German car manufacturer released some fresh material with it, in case you forgot what it looks like.

Granted, this streamlined, aerodynamically-perfected machinery isn’t the prettiest thing on wheels, but Mercedes went with function over form and implemented some intriguing mechanisms into it.

For instance, after the car reaches speeds in excess of of 80 km/h, it automatically switches from design mode to aerodynamic mode, and eight segments deploy at the rear-end (extending the car’s length by up to 390mm, while the flaps in the front bumper can extend outwards and rearwards, thus improving the airflow of the study.

All these features, complemented by the Active Rims – that alter their cupping from 50mm to zero – transform the car into an air cutting tool, with a drag coefficient of only 0.19. That’s almost as streamlined as the famous six-wheeled Mercedes-Benz T80, developed and designed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1939 with the intention of breaking the land speed record.

Anyway, you might think the Concept IAA concentrates exclusively on aerodynamics, but its autonomous technology and hybrid powertrain begs to differ. Powered by a petrol/electric plug-in hybrid drive with a total output of 279PS (275hp), the car can communicate with other vehicles in order to source-out information and does it while chugging out as little as 28 g CO2 per km in aerodynamic and electric mode.