Mercedes Vision G-Code concept is a giant solar panel (LA Auto Show)

SPORT-UTILITY COUPE PREVIEWS FUTURISTIC TECH AND INTERIOR

    Mercedes-Benz is giving the world a glimpse of the G-Code concept prior to its appearance at the Los Angeles Auto Showlater this month. The unveil is also timed to coincide with the opening of a new Product Engineering Center in Beijing. The G-Code concept is said to be packed with technology, though not too much since the concept is actually shorter than the new 2015 GLA-class.

    Designed to be powered by a turbocharged combustion engine that can run on hydrogen and drive the front wheels, the G-Code concept also features an electric motor that drives the rear wheels. Power would be distributed through a multi-disc clutch. The G-Code could also switch between the two powertrains, running either on its combustion engine or the electric motor, or both at the same time.

    Mercedes-Benz calls the G-Code a sport utility coupe, and the company is keen to point out that this concept is not headed into production in the foreseeable future. Instead, the G-Code is meant to demonstrate cutting-edge technology like a multi-voltaic paint finish, which would allow the entire body to serve as one giant solar panel. The concept can also charge itself using natural wind force when the car is stationary, and recharge using the rebound energy of the springs in its suspension, harnessing that and converting it into electricity.

    All this conceptual technology (that doesn't quite work yet) is wrapped in a body that seems to be at least a decade away, with short overhangs, high ground clearance, and a blue-illuminated pulsating grille that Mecredes-Benz likens to the warp core of the starship Enterprise (seriously). The carbon fiber, aluminum and leather interior certainly seems like it came from the Galaxy-class U.S.S. Enterprise-D, we'll give it that, though there's still a Formula One-style steering wheel in front of the driver instead of a touchscreen panel. Needless to say, the G-Code previews design and tech that's pretty far in the future, though not quite into the 24th century.