CLA electric car by mercedes-benz debuts in rome
Mercedes-Benz debuts the CLA electric car with a radiant ‘face’ made of animated LED stars and storage under the front trunk. Introduced at IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich, Germany, the car manufacturer brings the real-life model of the electric vehicle to Rome, Italy, for its official unveiling on March 13th, 2025. Here, designboom interviews Mercedes-Benz’s chief design officer, Gorden Wagener, who discusses the car’s design, including the face of the CLA vehicle. He compares it to an LED wall because the front of the car comes with a star panel in high-gloss black.
Then here, 142 individually animated LED stars glow alongside the car manufacturer’s three-pointed star emblem in the middle. This is the first fully illuminated grille panel on a Mercedes-Benz production car, which bears an A-shape design marking the vehicle as electric. ‘You can pretty much do anything you like with these animated stars because you can customize the light patterns. This grille makes the car different because other cars seem faceless; they don’t have an identity. But we have the Mercedes-Benz grille here alongside the star, and that’s a significant iconographic,’ Gorden Wagener shares with designboom during the unveiling in Rome, Italy.
all images courtesy of Mercedes-Benz
Bringing back the ‘frunk’ design from the 1930s
Mercedes-Benz says that the electric car CLA marks its entrance to an era of new design and digital age. In fact, it brings back the ‘frunk’, which is the storage under the front hood where engines are typically placed. ‘The CLA is actually an electric car, so we use the space at the front for extra storage. As simple as that,’ the Chief Design Officer shares with designboom. It offers 101 liters of additional load space, which is ideal for a luggage trolley, a crate of 0.33-liter bottles, or the charging cable. It is bigger and more useful than in the Mercedes-Benz 130 (W 23) from the 1930s, which was the car manufacturer’s first vehicle with a frunk.
Inside the electric car, the CLA features the infotainment system, the Mercedes-Benz User Experience. Among its number of highlights is the Surround Navigation. The car manufacturer uses 3D game-engine graphics typically used in video games to provide the driver with a 3D representation of the roads and surroundings. This driver-assistance view shows other road users and vehicles in the same field, as if the driver were playing a first-person video game. With this in mind, the design gives the driver improved situational awareness of what’s happening around them. The realistic display also helps them navigate urban traffic better and more visibly.
the car manufacturer brings the real-life model of the electric vehicle to Rome, Italy, for its official unveiling
AI agents that detect the driver’s emotions
The CLA electric car also uses generative AI and the different language models. These include ChatGPT 4.0, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft Bing. These assist the driver while they’re driving, be it for directions or landmarks to visit. Aside from these, the Chief Design Officer explains to designboom that these AI tools have agents that allow the Mercedes-Benz system to have a human-like conversation with the driver. They memorize the driver’s speech patterns and can have smart discussions with them. They also detect their emotions and reply according to their moods. Then, there’s also a Superscreen, which takes over the entire dashboard.
For the Superscreen, it extends across the dashboard, with both ends having rounded air vents that seem to float. There aren’t any manual screens in the electric car CLA, as Mercedes-Benz puts the long digital display. The central display shows the most important information, including the most recently used apps. Then, techie drivers can now group or move apps and files into individually named folders. It is then similar to a smartphone or computer. The vehicle is game-inspired and tech-heavy. Gorden Wagener confirms it during our interview, citing that it’s because ‘the CLA is the youngest car of our series generation,’ entailing the similar tech trends with the current youth.
Mercedes-Benz brings back the ‘frunk’, or the storage under the front hood
142 individually animated LED stars glow alongside the car manufacturer’s three-pointed star at the front
this is the first fully illuminated grille panel on a Mercedes-Benz production car
the Superscreen, which is made of glass, takes over the entire dashboard.