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Apple lends prestige to a new Mercedes-Benz music system

Not often does Apple offer its name to products or technologies that emerge from beyond the walls of Fortress Cupertino. Could a partnership with Mercedes-Benz signal the start of something new? Mercedes’ new audio system unveiled this past weekend centers on the integration of Apple MusicÂ’s Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos surround — a music enhancement generally heard in headphone-listening environments — in selected (and optional) Burmester audio systems. Plans are to offer the components initially in the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, the S-Class as well as the EQE, EQE SUV, EQS and EQS SUV. No prices for the options were announced. Also partnering in the project is the Universal Music Group, one of the worldÂ’s leading music publishers. According to Mercedes, the Dolby tech “empowers musicians and audio engineers to place discrete audio elements or objects in a three-dimensional sound field, which goes beyond the capabilities of standard stereo productions. The system adapts to any playback environment, meaning fans can listen to music with unparalleled clarity that matches the artist's original vision in the studio.” We would expect no less from 31 speakers in a Maybach, powered by a pair of amps churning out 1,750 watts. Imagine Keith Richards cranking guitar through 31 speakers in an enclosed car cockpit. Almost three out of four music consumers say that they listen mostly in a car, says Mercedes Chairman Ola Kallenius. ”Through this exceptional partnership, we are giving our customers the extraordinary in-car audio experience they expect from Mercedes-Benz,” he said. “Both Apple and UMG share our vision and values and, together with Dolby, we will create a seamless and unique experience for our customers." Partnerships between automakers and audio companies have become common in recent years, and there have been mixed results from systems attempting to create a "surround sound" experience that goes beyond stereo. Bose put its systems into General Motors cars decades ago, and others followed, including Bowers & Wilkins, JBL and even the legendary McIntosh. Most recently, famed Italian speaker designer Sonon faber found a home in Maserati's new Grecale, and British speaker maker KEF is working with Lotus.  

New Mercedes E-Class nearly exposed, may be Maybach

The all-new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is marching closer and closer to production, with a new round of spy photos giving us our best look yet at the S-Class-inspired looks of the German brand's executive luxury car. There really is very little camouflage this time around – what's there looks more like the kind of plastic wrapping you'd see on a freshly imported vehicle at the port. In front, we can see the new E will wear similar LED accents to the S- and C-Class. The E-Class' big and little brothers also inspired the tail of the new model, where we can see slightly disguised, vertically oriented LED taillights. Prominent, enclosed exhausts are very similar to what we saw in our spy shots of the Mercedes-Maybach E-Class. Aside from the exhausts, this particular car also wears the same blingy wheels as the range-topping tester we spied last August. The thick-rimmed, multi-spoke design isn't the only giveaway to this car's luxurious intentions, though. Our last Maybach sighting showed a car completely covered in camo, making it difficult to tell just how large the rear doors are relative to the car we're seeing today. Instead of the doors, though, we suggest you look at the windows. Like the August spy photos, this prototype features tinted rear glass, which could perhaps indicate that we're looking at yet another example the second Mercedes-Maybach model. So is this yet another Maybach E-Class? We're leaning towards yes. The size of the back doors – and the rear quarter window, in particular – is close enough to what we saw last month, and the presence of tinted glass, the same exhausts, and the same wheels can't be discounted either.

Mercedes-Benz Concept IAA is a modern silver aero

While we English-speaking folk call it the Frankfurt Motor Show, our German friends call this week's bi-annual confab the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung, or IAA. At first glance, then, you might think Mercedes-Benz named its Frankfurt concept, the Concept IAA, after the show it'd debut at. But, the Concept IAA isn't named for the show. It's actually an abbreviation for Intelligent Aerodynamic Automobile, and it's very aerodynamic indeed. This four-door coupe can transform, while moving, from its sedan-like design mode to an ultra-sleek, gas-powered fish of a car. This aerodynamic mode has a drag coefficent of just 0.19. That's sleeker than a Tesla Model S, and it ties the rating of the General Motors EV1 electric car. In fact, it's very nearly as aerodynamic as the Volkswagen XL1. The IAA can transform automatically at 80 kilometers per hour (about 50 miles per hour) or via the press of a button. When it enters an aerodynamic mode, eight segments at the back of the car extend out, adding over 15 inches to the overall vehicle length, effectively extending its already tear-dropped-shaped tail. And that's just the most visible aero aid. At the front of the car, flaps in the bumper extend out nearly an inch, while there's a smaller extender in the back bumper. These serve to keep air away from the wheel arches, where turbulence can become an issue. Of course, Mercedes has thought of this, too, fitting "Active Rims" that "alter their cupping from 55 mm to zero," whatever that means. There's even an active aero aid inside the front bumper, where a louver extends backward by 2.3 inches to smooth out the air traveling underneath the car. Outside of its super-slippery mode, the IAA is a relatively handsome four-door coupe, featuring the kind of plunging roofline that wouldn't look out of place on the company's pioneering CLS-Class. The interior is certainly worthy of the CLS, too. It's home to gorgeous white leather and touch-based controls, and in general, looks very luxurious. Mercedes' dogged pursuit of aerodynamics does not mean that the Concept IAA is some gutless ecomobile. Under the skin is a gas-powered, plug-in hybrid system that produces up to 279 horsepower and allows the sleek sedan to hit 155 mph. Its all-electric range is based, of course, on what mode its body is in. It's most impressive in aero mode, where it will cover 41 miles on a single charge. Switch over to design mode, and that figure drops slightly to 38.5 miles.