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Mercedes has outlined its plans for a simply gigantic show stand at its home event, the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in September, and the star attraction will be the 1,001hp petrol-electric Mercedes-AMG Project One hypercar.
We know that this incredible creation from Affalterbach will take much of its technology and learnings from Mercedes-AMG's participation in Formula 1, as it will employ hybrid drive and a turbocharged V6 motor. But it will be an anxious wait until the show opens its doors to finally see the mighty machine in full, and to get a run-down on its specification.
It will be one of just 100 - yes, that's right, one hundred - vehicles being displayed by Mercedes at IAA alone. Other highlights of this vast array of three-pointed stars will be a new smart car for shared urban mobility, the GLC F-Cell EQ hydrogen-powered SUV, the updated S-Class Coupe and Cabriolet models, and the X-Class pick-up truck, which shares underpinnings with the Nissan NP300 Navara and the Renault Alaskan.
Mercedes' new corporate strategy, which is represented by vehicles like the new city car concept debuting at IAA, is built on four pillars: Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric. And yes, that spells out 'CASE', which Mercedes says stands for 'maximum mobility efficiency in and for the urban environment thanks to systematic further development of the car-sharing concept, and makes the vision of individualised, highly flexible urban public transport a reality'. If you can follow all that...
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Mercedes never scrimps on the stand size for IAA and it's not just about the sheer numbers of cars that will be present - so far, 400 employees from Stuttgart have been working for more than two months on planning and realising the presentation areas for the premium brand, which will cover more than 11,000 square metres. That includes 970 tonnes of steel, more than 250km of wiring and 6,000 lights installed.