You can almost smell the Mercedes desperation

[Naonak]

The Mercedes-AMG GT63-S prototype was at the local Mercedes dealer today. First thing that struck me was that they stole the Tesla design files, made a few cosmetic changes (shave a couple inches off the nose & stuff the extra to puff up the hood, round off the spoiler, flip the window teardrop) and call it a day! They probably couldn't figure out how to make their handles pop out.

Just to be sure I wasn't imagining things, I overlayed the two cars and faded them out. Yep... pretty much the same.




The interior, though, is probably another story. I imagine it's far, far superior to any Tesla.

 

[Ande]

If, by superior, you mean the huge, ugly, round vents occupying most of the dashboard.
Cringe worthy design they had a whole now.

 

[djlott]

Not missing my previous 2009 E350 $1500 repair schedule every 6 months immediately following 3yr / 36000 mile warranty expiration. Not missing it one bit despite paying 3x more for my Model S. Okay maybe a little but nah not really.

 

[Celledral]

Let's not forget that the model S was once based off a Mercedes CLS as it's prototype platform.

 

[Shock-On-T]

The Model S came out 10 years ahead of its time.
It still seems surreal to me that the screen/UI is still ahead of literally everyone else, even though it's been out 6 years.

 

[BBB4000]

The model S def took a lot from Mercedes. I had a Merc rental once and was shocked by how much of the interior driver side was identical. Of course MB has the nicer finishes.

 

[Northernstar02]

Yep, I have a W204 C220 and i recognise an awful lot of the interior switch gear. The driver's door power window / electric mirror unit is straight out of the Merc parts bin. Nothing really wrong with that. The Aston Martin DB7 had an awful lot of Ford and Mazda parts...

 

[jaguar36]

They probably couldn't figure out how to make their handles pop out.

To be fair, it took Tesla like 5 years to figure out how to make the handles pop out without breaking every year or two.

Also, MB supplied a lot of the original switchgear for Tesla for a long time (and maybe still does?) so of course its the same. The interior on the E-Class looks hideous to me, so busy and overdone.

 

[.jg.]

The Mercedes-AMG GT63-S prototype was at the local Mercedes dealer today. First thing that struck me was that they stole the Tesla design files, made a few cosmetic changes (shave a couple inches off the nose & stuff the extra to puff up the hood, round off the spoiler, flip the window teardrop) and call it a day!

We do know that Mercedes' parent (Daimler Chrysler) rented a Tesla Model X from Sixt (who had rented it from a couple running a small business) - and then took it to two test tracks, subjected it to heat and vibration tests, took it apart and put it back together (badly):

Mercedes' Parent Company Daimler Dismantled A Rented Tesla Model X For Research

I didn't hear how the couple's court case went. Daimler's lawyers apparently claimed that it never happened, presumably unaware that Tesla cars routinely log what is happening and send it all the data back to Tesla. It would be interesting to know what Tesla saw in the data, while the car was with Mercedes.

 

[Phrixotrichus]

I don`t see any copying here. It`s just that aerodynamic principles happen to be the same all over the globe.
That has been the standard geometry for big coupes across all brands for a long time, and the usual visual differentiatiors, namely lights, grill, door/window proportions etc are all typical merc.

 

[glide]

So you’re saying it’s a Tesla with a nicer interior? Sign me up.

 

[dark cloud]

"renting cars for tests is common practice in the industry, any damages are just paid from the insurance companies".

Anyone else pissed off about this comment? I know our insurance rates go up about 3 times the rate of inflation every year, and I am sure most insurance policies have exclusions regarding racetrack use.

 

[Cirrus MS100D]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

 

[P85DBeast]

That interior is gorgeous!!

 

[Saghost]

Let's not forget that the model S was once based off a Mercedes CLS as it's prototype platform.

Do you have more information about this? I remember hearing a lot about the Aston Martin connection, but I don't think I've read of a connection with the CLS before.

Tesla was using MB steering columns and switch gear for a long time.

 

[icefree]

That interior is gorgeous!!

Uh, was your statement missing a /s at the end?

 

[P85DBeast]

The Model S came out 10 years ahead of its time.
It still seems surreal to me that the screen/UI is still ahead of literally everyone else, even though it's been out 6 years.

The new Ram 1500 challenges this statement.

 

[Saghost]

The new Ram 1500 challenges this statement.

You see this interface as somehow more modern or more innovative than Tesla's?

Yes, it has a large touch screen sandwiched in between the thousands of buttons. Having a touchscreen is just the beginning of catching up...

 

[P85DBeast]

You see this interface as somehow more modern or more innovative than Tesla's

No, however I see it as other companies trying to innovate their design and become more like Tesla (they aren't necessarily there yet). The interior of the Model S has been the same for the past 6 year's (excluding seat change's) so of course some manufacture's are going to try to make their interface's better (try to) than Tesla. Im glad Tesla is having such a huge impression on other companies that they improve on their design to catch up, that means Tesla is doing something right.

 

[plumazul]

The new Ram 1500 challenges this statement.

Is that a JukeBox??