FEATURES
Sharing our collective coverage of events, experiences, and featured stories
The Tear Down & New Beginnings
This abused 1991 BMW 325i E30 Convertible was in need of more than just a tune-up and wax. So the process to tear it all down and see where we would end up began. Thanks to our growing Collective of affiliate partners this is going to be one special E30 when it's finished. Here's a look back at the beginning of the E30 Vert build.
Looking to the Future: Mercedes-Benz VISION AVTR
This automobile is the physical embodiment of a core Mercedes-Benz value: vision. In fact, it’s in the name: VISION AVTR. For the entirety of the brand’s existence, the prestigious marque has had an eye toward the future.
Karl Benz ensured the brand’s DNA and heritage would be inexorably connected to the value of vision in 1885 when his first Benz Patent-Motorwagen was completed. His wife Bertha Benz, who had funded her husband’s invention, saw the potential of the automobile and a successful company.
Frustrated with Karl’s lack of marketing prowess, Bertha set off on the first automobile road trip 132 years ago today. Along the way, she invented the brake pad and service station, and she realized her own vision for the automobile. Some people were frightened by the site of the “car,” some were awed—all had been given a glimpse of the future courtesy of Bertha.
Her vision was commemorated by Germany in 2008. The creation of the Bertha Benz Memorial Route allows anyone who wants to trace her tracks to follow 194 kilometers (120.5 miles) of signs, taking them from Mannheim to Pforzheim.
It would have been easy for Mercedes-Benz to rest on Karl’s invention. Instead, the company has constantly pursued breakthroughs. In 1901, the company created the first “modern car,” the Mercedes 35 PS. Roughly a decade later, they’d put an engine with four valves per cylinder in the Benz Special Touring Car, inventing the first multi-valve motor. The 300SL Gullwing was the first production car to use direct injection. The W126 S Class was the first car that had an airbag, presented as an option in 1981. Now, airbags aren’t just standard equipment, they’re legal requirements.
This legacy of vision and innovation has brought us to the VISION AVTR. Concept cars are, at their core, design exercises. But manufacturers aren’t always just testing the waters to see how far they can push aesthetic boundaries. Oftentimes, brands are attempting to answer forward-looking questions. In the case of the VISION AVTR, the questions Mercedes-Benz has answered are clear: How far can we take mobility? Will the car as we know it exists? As stewards of the automobile’s heritage, how will the experience be transformed?
Again, this concept’s name provides hints as to how Mercedes-Benz applied its answers to those questions. VISION is obvious, of course. But the AVTR in the vehicle’s name is much more than a nod to the company’s involvement in the upcoming Avatar films—it’s an acronym. AVTR stands for “Advanced Vehicle T(R)ansformation.” The concept embodies the future-looking vision of Mercedes-Benz, and their commitments to luxury and delivering an unparalleled experience.
The VISION AVTR isn’t so futuristic or alien in appearance that it makes a person feel uncomfortable. Rather, it’s a place most automotive aficionados would want to spend time. The design is a bold interpretation of the future but Mercedes-Benz’s vision still includes luxury. And unlike many concept cars, the VISION AVTR is functional—highly functional.
This electric concept features four high-performance motors that deliver a dynamic driving experience, complete with torque-vectoring all-wheel drive. The ability for each axle to be driven opposite of one another means the VISION AVTR can “crab walk,” moving sideways by 30 degrees.
Mercedes-Benz feels that sustainability will remain crucial for the health of the planet. Bearing that in mind, this concept is zero-emission and its battery technology features organic cell chemistry based on graphene. The VISION AVTR’s batteries are 100-percent recyclable and can be composted. The attractive seating is produced using a sustainable vegan material called DINAMICA leather, made by recycling PET plastic bottles, old clothing, and even flags. Energy is also supplied by what Mercedes-Benz calls “bionic flaps” on the back, integrated solar plates that can be moved multi-directionally. This design feature reduces the energy consumed per commute.
You’ll have to pry the keys to our internal combustion-engine cars out of our hands to keep us from ever ”commuting” in them again. The Das Erbe Collective believes driving a car is a unique skill and an irreplaceable experience that leads to additional, unforgettable experiences. In other words, we’re in no hurry to kick our gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles out of our garages.
But the VISION AVTR, with its biometric connection to passengers and immersive experience, has us looking toward the future right alongside Mercedes-Benz.
Reflecting on SEMA 2019
The SEMA experience begins well before a single step is taken inside the world-famous Las Vegas Convention Center. Attendees start their journey toward Vehicle Valhalla immersed in everything automotive from well outside the convention space’s doors.
A person could spend an entire day outside taking in the high-dollar drift machines, immaculate classics, mind-bending customs, and mouthwatering exotics, like the BB328T perched atop the CTP Concepts Nighttrain. Each worthy of careful consideration, each nearly impossible to appreciate in their totality, each resting like an apex predator waiting to stretch its legs.
We all knew that SEMA 2020 would be awash in a roiling sea of MKV Supras. That expectation didn’t lessen the impact and excitement of the return of a JDM legend and the unique visions it has already inspired. (Yes, we know a JDM-DTM collaboration was needed to bring the successor to the iconic MKIV to life.)
It wasn’t just turbo and custom exhaust system sizes that mattered at SEMA 2019. Monstrous trucks and SUVs dwarfed several six- and seven-figure car builds with sky-piercing lifts, world-conquering rubber, and garish grilles. From overlanders to brodozers, trucks and the myriad parts and tech available for sky’s-the-limit modding commanded attention.
