Gorden Wagener, head of design at Mercedes-Benz at EQS ‘Hyperscreen:’ Bigger, better ‘

This story is part of CES, where our editors will present the latest news and the hottest gadgets from CES 2021 entirely virtual.

Mercedes-Benz presented on Thursday the Hyperscreen, a huge one-piece infotainment screen that will be available in the coming EQS luxury electric sedan. Gorden Wagener, head of design at Daimler, spoke with reporters at a virtual round table to explain more about Hyperscreen and how it became a reality.

Wagener says the idea of ​​Hyperscreen came up a few years ago, and it all started with a sketch on the wall of Mercedes’ interior design studio, now closed, in Como, Italy. (Since then, Mercedes has opened a new design studio in the Côte d’Azur, France. Good job, if you can do it.) “I saw the sketch and said, ‘This is amazing, let’s make it happen,'” says Wagener . “And we made it happen! We made it possible with a partner, and it really surprises me. We have a vision, a little sketch there, and we make it a reality.”

The Hyperscreen extends 56 inches in total, across the entire panel, and has about 377 square inches of screen. It is technically three separate monitors under a glass panel, all of which are OLED units with super high resolution, but the transition from the screen to the empty glass looks perfect. “The bigger the better,” says Wagener.

When equipped with the Hyperscreen, the only physical controls on the EQS panel will be the start button and light switch, and Wagener says that this is not something that Mercedes will back off – so don’t expect new Mercedes models to bring back more buttons and switches five years later. “We were pushing for the elimination of hard keys because that makes it clean and modern,” he says. “It is something completely different to operate. As designers, we love simplicity.”

Hyperscreen will be optional, with EQS receiving a configuration similar to 2021 S-Class by default, this will have a stand-alone meter cluster screen and a separate infotainment screen on the panel. Wagener did not give many details about the basic system, but he says that EQS was designed with Hyperscreen in mind. “We started with Hyperscreen, which was the focal point,” says Wagener. “We are always looking at the standard version, but we do not want to compromise on the cutting-edge version.”

The S-Class feature (and ostensibly the basic EQS) is dominated by a huge slightly curved panel, which is available in a variety of wood, carbon fiber, aluminum and piano black finishes. The extravagant finish is the hallmark of any luxury car, so I ask Wagener how the EQS equipped with Hyperscreen will make up for the lack of this panel. “When the entire instrument panel is a canvas, you have less space for traditional finishing materials, but Hyperscreen itself is the jewel of the interior,” he says. “It is brilliant, it has mega resolution, it is sexy and simple. Seeing it in that size and shine, it is much more beautiful than any finishing material would do.”

There will still be sophisticated finishes, like chrome strips around the screen and wooden pieces on the center console and dashboard, but Wagener says, “We are switching from traditional finishing materials to digital materials” when it comes to Mercedes electric cars. The passenger side of the Hyperscreen can display animated patterns or image galleries, making it essentially a virtual finishing piece. “After using it and being able to animate it, put pictures of your loved ones, it is much more valuable, rich and luxurious than you are used to.” Wagener also pointed to the propeller-type analog air vents, which he described as “hyperanalogical”.

Hyperscreen is the kind of innovation that designers dream of, things that are usually reserved for concept cars, and Wagener has not said a word about how excited he is about it. “We will always put beauty first, we will never make a strange solution. I am so happy that I cannot even believe that this design vision has become a reality.”

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