What if: A team of young designers creates the Mercedes-Benz SL Shooting Brake

Under the watchful guidance of Steffen Köhl, the head of the Mercedes-Benz Global Advanced Design Studio, a team of six young and daring artists working for the Italian design house Studiotorino have mastered a wonderful proposal for an SL-Class Shooting Brake. This is not the first time the SL gets transformed into a fastback coupe - the first project of this kind was released in 2008 and based on the facelifted R 230 series.

Entitled "Coupetorino 2013", the concept is basically an SL roadster which gained a dynamic coupe form and lost its retractable roof. Instead, the roofline resembles the true Mercedes style and beautifully flows towards the back end. Because the car features an integrated tail gate and two volumes, besides having two access doors, it certainly can be described as a traditional shooting brake.

This outstanding Mercedes-Benz showcar was officially presented as a 1:4 scale clay model two months ago at the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studio in Como, Italy. What is even more interesting is the heads behind this project have fully evaluated the costs of production and impact of a potential series production of the Coupetorino 2013.

The SL Shooting Brake deserves a big appraisal and has already received an important number of positive reactions. While the evaluation numbers remain classified, we could not help but ask if a future SL Shooting Brake would be worth the money not only producing it, but also buying it? In most cases, the answer would be plain simple: YES!

Below you can read the press statement from Studiotorino and see more pictures of the Coupetorino 2013 study! Enjoy! :)

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

COUPETORINO 2013 is a non-profit academic project conceived by Studiotorino and promoted by Alfredo and Maria Paola Stola. Its goal is to train six young students who attend Istituto di Arte Applicata e Design in Torino. The project began in September 2012 with six students: Bruno Arena, Michele Bavaro, Riccardo Luigi Cascone, Stefano Manini, Dario Pellegrino and Cristiano Zanot.

The objective of the "style research study" between STUDIOTORINO and Steffen Koehl of Global Advance Design MERCEDES BENZ was to transform the new iconic Mercedes SL spider into an exclusive Coupe. The COUPETORINO was envisioned by fantasy as a one-off special edition or limited series model and was for the students a realistic work-study project. In addition to the basic style aspects of transforming a spider into a true coupe, careful consideration was taken into account in terms of engineering feasibility and cost of production.

Steffen Koehl's didactic participation was generous and highly instructive. Over the months Mr. Koehl gave three in-person lectures and maintained a continuous dialogue with the students via email.

The students presented Step 2 of their work on November 5, 2012 in Sindelfingen at the MERCEDES-BENZ Design Center. The students presented and illustrated their 3 final style versions: Classic, Muscular and Shooting-Brake. The students were cordially welcomed and had the exclusive opportunity to present their work on a triple 1/1 screen, one of the most avant-guard in the world. Steffen Koehl graciously guided the group through the Design Center and commented on every one of the students' designs, making corrections when necessary.

Step 4 of the project was presented was the second meeting and took place in Torino on January 22, 2013 at IAAD. Italo Moriggi and colleagues of Skorpion, sponsor of the project's 1/4 scale stereolitography resin model attended the event. Mr. Koehl examined all of the designs, listened to and suggested modifications and alterations to the students' work.

Step 4 Plus of the project transpired via email. The students had modified their design according to suggestions and the Shooting-Brake design was selected for the scale model. The datas were performed at Skorpion in Milan. The students had the opportunity to interact with Matteo Gelpi and add another dimension to their experience. The 1/4 scale model was created using a large and monolithic stereolitography technique with an internal surface thickness that would allow manual modifications.

The final presentation of the 9-month academic project took place on May 27 at the MERCEDES-BENZ Design Center in Como. Steffen Koehl and Michele Paganetti cordially welcomed the students, Studiotorino, IAAD and Skorpion. The students: Arena, Bavaro, Cascone, Manini, Pellegrino and Zanot presented their design project as if presenting a thesis. They explained in detail every step that led their study from an idea to a model. Teamwork was an integral and deliberate part of the learning experience and the students did all of their work as one.

On this their last and most important day the students also expressed their individuality with a surprise. The students presented the Mercedes Design Center with six illustrations of the COUPETORINO finely printed on paper as a memento of their unforgettable experience.