Virgil Abloh’s ‘Project Geländewagen’: Where Luxury Meets Minimalism
In a bold collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, the late designer Virgil Abloh took the luxury G-Wagen and stripped it down to its bare essentials, transforming it into a unique work of art. This wasn’t just a redesign; it was a philosophical statement about the nature of luxury and automotive design.
The project, dubbed ‘Project Geländewagen’, saw Abloh and his team removing almost all luxury touches from the vehicle. Logos, touchscreen systems, leather seats – everything was taken out, leaving the car bare and unadorned. The result was a vehicle that looked more like a DTM racing car than the luxury SUVs commonly seen on the roads.
Abloh’s vision was to take the G-Wagen ‘back to basics’. He lowered the suspension, widened the body, and removed the side mirrors and door handles. The leather seats were replaced with those from a DTM racing car, giving the interior a stark, functional look. Even the paint finish was deliberately left imperfect, embracing the ‘human touch’ over machine perfection.
“The idea of the paint is unique in that it runs away from the idea of perfection,” Abloh explained. “The finish is typically like the underlining of a car. The idea here is to embrace the human touch. It’s about celebrating the luxury of doing less. Of reducing a car to its simplest form – the way a child might draw it.”
The result is a vehicle that is certainly not road-ready. With no touchscreen and crossed-out headlights, it’s clear that this G-Wagen was never meant for everyday driving. Instead, it stands as a statement piece, challenging our perceptions of what a car can be.
‘Project Geländewagen’ raises interesting questions about the relationship between cars and art. While some cars are considered works of art in their own right – like John Lennon’s Rolls-Royce Phantom V – Abloh’s project goes further by stripping away the traditional markers of luxury and status associated with high-end vehicles.
In doing so, Abloh forces us to reconsider what we value in a car. Is it the luxury features, the brand prestige, or something more fundamental? ‘Project Geländewagen’ suggests that, at its core, a car is about simplicity and function – a notion that challenges the excesses of modern automotive design.
