07 Jan 07
If it wasn't cold enough in Detroit in January, Mercedes-Benz decided to adopt an icy theme to its launch of the Ocean Drive concept, with the car rolled out on to the rink that comprised the company's stand.
However, the German company won't exactly be skating on thin ice if it decides to put the car into production. The Ocean Drive concept (not named after the Lighthouse Family light pop classic, we're told) could well become a real car, based as it is on the S-Class. The company is officially calling it a one-off design study, but with tried and tested engineering forming the basis of the car, and a likely market for an elegant luxury convertible that will look just right cruising down Santa Monica Boulevard or La Croisette in Cannes, a drop-top version of the company's top-of-the-range executive saloon is not beyond the realms of possibility at some point over the next few years.
The long wheelbase means that the version of the S-Class used as the base is the S600, so if it is made, there'll be plenty of power on tap from the V12 engine to blow the wind through the hair of its occupants. But even with that wind, they won't be cold: a neck-level heating system developed by Mercedes, called Airscarf, is featured on all four seats, so top-down motoring is a possibility all-year-round.
And it really is a car designed for open-top driving: when the roof - which retracts fully into the boot - is down, the side windows are also retracted and the interior of the car is completely open.
In terms of its design, there's no great change to the Mercedes-Benz styling we've seen in the last few years: the main difference is the large upright radiator that defines the front of the car. Elsewhere, there are very subtle changes in the car's lines, such as the flowing shoulder line that originates at the front wheel arches and the sharply raked windscreen, in keeping with the convertible nature of the car.
The Ocean Drive on show comes in a two-tone paint job in shades of beige and grey, with the paint containing metallic flakes that cause the appearance to vary between a matt or a high-sheen effect that depends on the light and the perspective and distance the car is viewed from.
The rear part of the interior also features a champagne compartment, complete with a bottle of Moet and two goblets.
We're sure that if Ocean Drive goes into production, the sound of popping corks in Stuttgart will be audible when the order books open.
