Mercedes decision in the early 1990s to make a massive dash for growth by building a wide range of new types of vehicle ultimately paid off. But stretching its engineering resources caused some serious problems for the company. Perhaps the best example is the radical A Class. This car tore up the automotive rulebook. It was far shorter than normal, had a very unusual double decker chassis and engines that were mounted at an extreme angle in the nose, the latter two ideas also helped make it very safe car.
The A class design also managed to liberate the most extraordinary amount of space. Clip-out seats and a flat cabin floor also allowed it to be converted into a van that could load as long as 2m, even though it was just 3.6m long. Engineered completely from scratch, which meant this was a very expensive project. It also resulted in Mercedes making some serious mistakes with its first front drive vehicle.
After less than 3000 had been built, the A Class rolled over during a Scandinavian magazine’s standard ‘elk avoidance’ manoeuvre. Pictures of the little car flipping flashed around the world. Mercedes was forced to stop production and deployed nearly all its engineering staff on a rear suspension re-designs for the A Class. The core of the problem was the combination of a very short wheelbase and high roof. The combination didn’t do much for the car’s ride and handling either. Still, Mercedes sold over a million examples, including an exceptionally spacious long wheelbase version.
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