The system will be launched in the E-Class, and all the touch control buttons on the wheel also work with digital signals.
It is 120 years since the then Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft replaced the 'tiller' steering-rod with a wheel, following the innovation of French engineer Alfred Vacheron who installed a steering wheel instead of the usual lever in his Panhard & Levassor for the world’s first automobile race – from Paris to Rouen in July 1894. In 1900, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft also equipped its Phoenix racing car with a steering wheel. In this case the steering column was tilted, which made it much easier to operate.
In language more usually used for a whole car, Mercedes-Benz describe the new wheel as 'the most beautiful steering wheel we have ever built'. “The proportions of the airbag, spokes and rim are absolutely harmonious," says Hans-Peter Wunderlic, who has been designing steering wheels for 20 years. "The airbag is not concealed, but staged as a flattering sphere."
In the 'Luxury' version, the spokes 'form a chalice inspired by elegant Callas flowers in a black panel look, in which the sphere floats'. In the 'Supersport' option, it is 'held by two double-decker spokes in black panel design, reminiscent of the wheel wing nuts of sports cars'. "The steering wheels thus stage high-tech and, at the same time, arouse emotions — in keeping with the design philosophy of Sensual Purity, which expresses the bipolarity of intelligence and emotion."
Quite. Maybe the coronavirus lockdown is getting too much ...
