Video: Mercedes EQS Concept Puts on an Awesome Light Show at the 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show
Mercedes' electric show car must be seen to be fully appreciated
The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQS concept shows its possible to have fun and be responsible at the same time. The new 2019 Frankfurt auto show debut previews Mercedes' electrified future that has already begun: Read about the new2020Mercedes-BenzGLC 350e plug-in here, and check out our review of thefully electric EQC SUV here. If you're easily mesmerized by light shows, the EQS concept should be right up your alley.
It's hard not to look at a grille that features 940 LEDs in a three-dimensional plane. In the EQS concept's case, 188 circuit boards composed of five individual LEDs all come to life, in the shape of a three-pointed star, of course. As a show car, the three-pointed star references in the 229 LEDs of the taillights, at the top and center of the rear glass, and in the grille are wonderfully excessive. Not every brand can flaunt its cachet the way Mercedes can. Having said that, we hope that if such design details make it to a production car, they do so in a much more restrained way.
Then there are the headlights, which have 500 LEDs and four holographic lens modules each. We don't expect nor do we want such tech on a production car, but it's still fun to see on an electric car that hints at what the S-Class of electric cars might look like.
Along with the digital pinstriping that runs the entire length of the EQS concept (Mercedes calls it a "lightbelt"), the grille's light show is a cool show-car effect. Will such technology influence future cars at Mercedes? Who cares! Check out the video below to get an idea of what happens when you install 940 LEDs on a luxury car's grille.
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I’ve come a long way since I drove sugar packets across restaurant tables as a kid, pretending they were cars. With more than 17 years of experience, I'm passionate about demystifying the new car market for shoppers and enthusiasts. My expertise comes from thoughtfully reviewing countless vehicles across the automotive spectrum. The greatest thrill I get isn’t just from behind the wheel of an exotic car but from a well-executed car that’s affordable, entertaining, and well-made. Since about the time I learned to walk I’ve been fascinated by cars of all shapes and sizes, but it wasn’t until I struggled through a summer high school class at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design that I realized writing was my ticket into the automotive industry. My drive to high school was magical, taking me through a beautiful and winding canyon; I've never lost the excited feeling some 16-year-olds get when they first set out on the road. The automotive industry, singing, and writing have always been my passions, but because no one seeks a writer who sings about the automotive industry, I honed my writing and editing skills at UC Irvine (zot zot!), serving as an editor of the official campus newspaper and writing stories as a literary journalism major. At USC, I developed a much greater appreciation for broadcast journalists and became acquainted with copy editing rules such as why the Oxford comma is so important. Though my beloved 1996 Audi A4 didn’t survive my college years, my career with MotorTrend did. I started at the company in 2007 building articles for motorcycle magazines, soon transitioning to writing news posts for MotorTrend’s budding online department. I spent some valuable time in the copy editing department, as an online news director, and as a senior production editor. Today, MotorTrend keeps me busy as the Buyer's Guide Director. Not everyone has a career centered on one of their passions, and I remind myself all the time how lucky I am.
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