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The Concept IAA is a crystal ball looking into the future of energy-efficient mobility.

In the autumn of 2015, Mercedes-Benz wowed the world with what it called the champion of aerodynamics; a 4-door sedan that looks like a guided missile, the Mercedes Concept IAA. To a large extent, it's a guided missile streamlined from the inside out, top to bottom, to move as efficiently as symmetrically possible. The Concept IAA is the definitive benchmark for the company's business sedans of the future.

From its logo, we know the three points in the star symbolize the Mercedes' long-term vision to conquer land, sea, and air. Could the new Concept’s making mince meat of the wind spell the next phase in the marque’s hopeful domination of the air after conquering terra firma? After all, it was barely a year after revealing Concept IAA that the German company unveiled a Mercedes-Lufthansa-designed luxury 16-passenger plane.

IAA is short for Intelligent Aerodynamic Automobile, with the automaker touting the Concept as two cars in one, “a Cd value of 0.19 and a four-door coupé embodying irresistible design.” The Concept IAA is a crystal ball looking into the future of energy-efficient mobility. Let’s check it out.

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That isn't a mere caption; the Mercedes Concept Intelligent Aerodynamic Automobile is truly an Aerodynamic Champion. You may have noticed that most modern cars share a common underpinning in terms of structural design. That’s because automakers have reached the same conclusion drawn from independent research that the shape determines a car's aerodynamic capabilities. That explains why our roads are flooded with cars from different manufacturers, all looking like they rolled out of the same factory.

But as the Mercedes Concept IAA demonstrates, the challenge of automotive aerodynamics can only push the boundaries of automotive design, not stifle it. According to Dr. Thomas Weber, Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, "The 'Concept IAA' applies intelligent innovations to resolve the conflicting aims of functionality and aesthetics and shows that we still have plenty of ideas on how to achieve further improvements in efficiency."

This car succeeded in achieving just about all the goals of automotive aerodynamics, most notably reducing drag and improving agility at high speeds. Not that Concept IAA is a speed machine. Sitting there on display at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September 2015, you’d take one look at it and imagine it leaving the likes of the 2021 Bentley Flying Spur or the 2021 Audi RS7 in the dust.

Instead, the Mercedes Concept IAA boasts an electronically-limited top speed of 155 mph. It is propelled by a gas-oriented plug-in hybrid powertrain making a rather humble 279 horsepower.

This is where we talk about what the marquee means by a two-in-one car “with a Cd value of 0.19 and a four-door coupé embodying irresistible design.” If you're driving it below 50 mph, the car behaves like your typical Mercedes sedan. Go above that, and it quickly morphs into the aerodynamic champion it was designed to be. Panels deploy from the front, rear, and sides to reduce the drag coefficient to 0.19. Compare that to the 0.23 of the latest Mercedes S-Class, and you see why Concept IAA is the champ.

As you know, the coefficient of drag (Cd) is the measurement of a car’s aerodynamic capability based on its shape. The less the drag, the higher the top speed and overall fuel efficiency. A low Cd also affects the car's other performance attributes such as acceleration and handling. No other car matches Concept IAA's 0.19 coefficient of drag.

You could with the touch of a button engage the aerodynamic mode, or it automatically turns on at 50 mph (80 km/h). At that point, the car undergoes both bodily and technological changes, all of which are designed to win the war between object and air.

The grille shutters close. The louver in the front bumper moves 60 mm to the rear to improve underbody airflow. Front flaps in the front bumper move outward by 25 mm to the front and 20 mm to the rear, improving the airflow around the front end and the front wheel arches. The rear section extends by 390 millimeters, leaving the car with a more pronounced tail and reducing turbulence in the area when at high speeds.

Additionally, the Active Rims alter their cupping from 55 mm to zero, flattening to create a smooth surface, and the Concept IAA is finally a guided missile racing against the wind. Cedie says the Concept IAA has an all-electric brother that can go 41 miles in aerodynamic mode or 38 miles in design mode.

Inside, the cockpit and cabin are laden with technology, signaling the futuristic concept. It has Mercedes’ Car-to-X technology, a kind of IoT allowing it to communicate with nearby connected objects, say, a comparably equipped vehicle that isn’t necessarily Mercedes. It has touch sensors on the steering wheel that can control nearly all the car's functions. A touchpad on the center console helps drivers keep their eyes on the road.

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Mercedes Concept IAA may never make it to the production line, but its purpose is clearer than the sky. It will serve as a drawing board for future vehicles coming from the three-pointed star as well as other brands. The Car-to-X technology is a good case in point, despite not being the focal point here.

You can expect to see cars in the nearest future arriving with front grilles that can be altered to improve aerodynamics. The transformational features are at the core of what the Mercedes Concept hopes to demonstrate, that a correct measurement of coefficient of drag is not complete without taking into account the frontal area since the front is the total cross-section.

Normally, more power – which in the third millennium would mean more battery cells - is required to compensate for the drag. However, the Mercedes’ shuttering front grilles is an innovative approach to solving this problem. We see it vicariously replicated in car designs of the future.

Philip Uwaoma, this bearded black male from Nigeria, is fast approaching two million words in articles published on various websites, including toylist.com, rehabaid.com, and autoquarterly.com. After not getting credit for his work on Auto Quarterly, Philip is now convinced that ghostwriting sucks. He has no dog, no wife- yet- and he loves Rolls Royce a little too much.