Weststar–Mercedes-Benz winning all the way; SLS AMG and the new CLS
Faced with stiff competition and a rigorous selection process from more than 1500 products which were entered for the design competition, the jury ultimately awarded the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany 2011 in gold to 25 products. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG was the only car to receive this top award by Germany’s […]
Faced with stiff competition and a rigorous selection process from more than 1500 products which were entered for the design competition, the jury ultimately awarded the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany 2011 in gold to 25 products. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG was the only car to receive this top award by Germany’s Federal Minister of Economics and Technology.
In October, Sunday Trust- Motoring had featured the award by Auto Motor und Sport magazine on Best design and today, it’s an added star to Weststar Associates shoulders.
This award, according to Mr. Mirko Plath, Managing Director, Weststar Associates Limited, is held in particularly high esteem, because only products that have previously won a design award may be nominated to receive it”. In his words, “It is not just the exceptional and exciting design of the super sports car that makes it stand out from the crowd, but also its stunning technology”.
The CLS on the other hand, has been voted the best new product in the executive and luxury class segment by a top-class jury comprising 40 automotive experts and prominent figures. The new four-door coupé model was also awarded “Golden Steering Wheel” – one of the most important automotive awards in Europe by “Bild am Sonntag”, “Auto Bild” and 26 associated European publications. The new CLS builds on the pioneering role of its predecessor, yet at the same time, is an entirely new edition. What immediately strikes the eye is the innovative front design, which is reminiscent of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
Mr Plath explains that, “ten new products in the executive and luxury class were put to the extensive reader vote for the “Golden Steering Wheel”, which was announced across the whole of Europe. The jury for the “Golden Steering Wheel” is the largest most international in the world”. In the first round, readers of “Auto Bild”, “Bild am Sonntag” and 26 European “Auto Bild” sister publications cast votes for their favourites. From Finland to Spain, and from England to Estonia, some 40 million readers decided which cars were worthy of winning the golden trophies. At the beginning of October, no less than 40 testers put the vehicles through their paces on a test track in Balocco (Italy) over a period of three days. This is where the new Mercedes-Benz CLS emerged victorious to bring the “Golden Steering Wheel” back to Stuttgart for the 19th time.
With the CLS, Mercedes-Benz created a new vehicle category in 2003 which for the first time, combined the elegance and dynamism of a coupé with the comfort and functionality of a saloon. The customers were delighted, the competition taken aback: for many years the CLS remained the only four-door coupé in its class while the SLS AMG since its world premiere at the 2009 International Motor Show in Frankfurt, has won numerous major awards.
The award for best new product was officially presented to Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars, in Berlin while the German Design Award will be presented by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology at a special public awards ceremony on the 11 February, 2011.