2005 Maybach Exelero

Why not revive a good und effective cooperation once again? In the middle of the 1990s, Fulda Reifen had already had a show truck designed by the students of Pforzheim Polytechnic’s Department of Transport Design under the direction of Professor James Kelly. Since the year 2000, to mark the 100th anniversary of Fulda, this uniue vehicle with its futuristic aura, the trailer of which can be divided lengthwise in the middle and extended, has been on the road for use at many events. Not only Fulda, also its cooperation partners Maybach and the design department of DaimlerChrysler have had very good experience with Pforzheim Polytechnic and were happy to agree. On the part of the Polytechnic, Professor Kelly and Professor Lutz Fügener assumed responsibility for the project and selected four students from the 6th semester who should produce designs under identical conditions.

On behalf of DaimlerChrysler, Professor Harald Leschke who manages the Group’s future projects, assumed responsibility for the project and the links with the students to the company’s design department. Because the students not only worked on the design in the college. They were also given the unique opportunity during a practical semester to work directly in DaimlerChrysler’s design center in Sindelfingen, under the wings of the design professionals. Included was the use of the latest technological facilities right up to 3-D animation.

The implementation of the creative ideas was handled quickly and very professionally. From the initial briefing at the Polytechnic (only formal specification from Fulda: Whatever happens no retro design!) through to the selection of the final design which should be realized, just less than eight months passed by. In the end, Fredrik Burchhardt 24, from Bowenden, emerged as the winner. His design was the most appropriate in terms of the transformation of the design from the study into reality. Also the relation of the design between the two vehicle generations was most striking in Burchhardt’s design.

However, Professor Leschke lavished his praise on all the students involved: “Even though Fredrik Burchhardt’s design won in the end, the ideas of the three other students should also be integrated. The project will remain a joint effort. Every single one of them displayed so much imagination, each of the designs could have been realized." In appreciation of these good performances, all four designs were milled as 1:4 scale models.

Ultimately, the design results can be described as a complete success. The Fulda/Maybach project car was created in a unique interplay between design students, their professors, the specialists from DaimlerChrysler and the Fulda team. The result: a new vehicle dimension.

The designers brings together the best of two vehicle genres - the grandeur of a limousine and the fascination of a coupé. As a result, the Fulda/Maybach project car combines muscular strength and apparently infinite elegance.

The designer mission was accomplished: The Exelero project is the ambassador of a new tire generation, the Fulda Carat Exelero in sizes up to 23 inches.