This year’s Los Angeles Design Challenge was not just about developing the Hollywood car of the future, but also about inventing a story worthy of Hollywood. Thanks to the ingenious work from the designers at the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studios in Sindelfingen, the smart 341 Parkour won the design contest. “With the 341 Parkour, smart hit the nail on the head: the design combines innovation and functionality with an exciting film plot” is how the jury consisting of multi-discipline design professionals justified their decision.
With the smart 341 Parkour the Mercedes-Benz designers created a revolutionary super all-rounder with a completely transparent passenger cell for maximum all-round visibility. It can drive normally on the roads, climb up the façade of skyscrapers and even fly! This is the vehicle that reporter Annie Angle sets off in to research her first title story which she hopes will kick-start her career. She has read in the newspaper that the incredible “smart Granny Robots” have gone missing and sets off to find them.
For the film story the designers took up the visionary smart concept which won them first place in the Los Angeles Design Challenge last year. Then the smart 454 was knitted from carbon fibre by “smart Granny Robots”.
Smart 341 Parkour – Annie get the Grannies!
In a world of continuous change, in Cantpark City, reporter Annie Angle is beginning a new chapter in her life. Cantpark City is famous for its friendly people, the beautiful weather, but notoriously known for a lack of parking spaces. On an early Sunday morning, an article in a newspaper catches Annie’s eyes… “Smart Granny Robots missing!!!”
Annie sets off on a journey to solve the mystery of the missing Grannies and to earn her first, potentially career-making, front page news article. Her Smart 341 Parkour vehicle plays a key role in this private investigation, providing both effective transportation and favourable sleuthing capabilities.
Several features enable her to take pictures from the best possible locations. The large greenhouse gives Annie 360 degrees of visibility while travelling through the inner city. The wheels are retractable and contain impulse pads and vacuum cups. The hexagon skin around the wheelhouse is adjustable to release the wheels. The Smart has different modes: a typical drive mode, a fly mode that allows the vehicle to hover far above the streets and a climb mode that allows the vehicle to run up the walls of skyscrapers.
The film for Mercedes-Benz “Silver Lightning” has been awarded as “Best Animation”.
