Mercedes fishes for inspiration

Mercedes has unveiled a biomimetic concept car which has a tropical fish to thank for its unusual shape.

Engineers at Mercedes-Benz used the aerodynamic properties of the boxfish to design the ‘bionic car’.

The body of a boxfish is extremely streamlined, despite its boxy, cube-like shape. Using this as a starting-point, the engineers created a 1:4 clay model of the car.

During wind-tunnel testing the model had a drag coefficient of just 0.095, which is the lowest ever measured in automotive engineering.

The full-sized concept car is one of the most aerodynamically efficient in its size category, with a drag coefficient of just 0.19 — around half the drag of a Mercedes 300SE.

The car is 4.24m long with room for four occupants plus luggage.

The boxfish also inspired the car’s body construction. The external door panelling is based on the fish’s lightweight but sturdy outer body, which consists of many hexagonal, bony plates. The resulting car panel is up to 40 per cent more rigid than conventional designs, but far lighter. Mercedes claims that the vehicle’s total weight will be reduced by around one third without the car’s strength or safety being affected.