1995 Mercedes-Benz VRC (Coggiola)

在1995年的日内瓦车展上，梅赛德斯-奔驰展示了一款革命性的新型研究车，其基本概念仍然与传统的乘用车有相当明显的区别。这款双门紧凑型Vario汽车是一个全能型的汽车，其外观只需几步就可以完全改变。车身部分由车顶、侧壁和车尾组成，可以与其他车身变型进行互换。例如，Estate可以变成敞篷车，轿车可以变成皮卡，以满足车主的个人喜好或手头的运输任务。

简而言之，Vario Research Car成功地将四种不同的车辆概念结合到一辆车中，为驾驶者提供了一种全新的方式，让他们可以根据自己的需求对车辆进行改造。

为了打造他们的 "四合一 "汽车，斯图加特的工程团队将车身分为基本车辆和可拆卸的顶部部分。在基本车的内部，可以找到所有的技术系统，以及前挡风玻璃、车门、仪表盘和座椅。换句话说，这是一个独立的单元，其设计保持不变，包含了所有的车辆工程。凭借其巧妙的造型，基本的车身部分似乎和谐地流向任何一个顶部部分，巧妙地隐藏了车身部分之间的接口。连接处实际上位于腰线下方，沿侧面、侧窗和挡风玻璃框架的上缘以及车尾。

这辆研究车在几分钟内就完成了变形，这个过程涉及的技术问题很少。电磁铁和特殊的锁定系统将车身牢牢地固定在基本车身上。车尾的中央连接器将车身与车辆的电源连接起来。电子系统自动检测到安装的是哪种车型，并相应地启用所需的连接。

At the Geneva Motor Show in 1995, Mercedes-Benz revealed a revolutionary new research vehicle whose basic concept continues to set it apart quite clearly from conventional passenger cars. The two-door compact Vario car was a master of all trades, whose appearance could be given a full makeover in just a few quick steps. The body section, which comprised the roof, sidewall and the rear end, could be interchanged with any of the other body variants. For example, the Estate could be turned into a cabriolet or the saloon transformed into a pick-up to suit either the owner’s personal preferences or the transportation task at hand.

In short, the Vario Research Car succeeded in combining four different vehicle concepts into a single car, presenting motorists with a new way of remodelling their vehicle as they wished to suit their own requirements.

To create their "four-in-one" car, the engineering team in Stuttgart separated the body into a basic vehicle and a removable top section. Inside the basic vehicle could be found all of the technical systems, as well as the front windscreen, the doors, the dashboard and the seats. In other words, an independent unit whose design remained unchanged and which contained all of the vehicle engineering. By virtue of its ingenious styling, the basic body section seemed to flow harmoniously into whichever top section was being used, cleverly concealing the interfaces between the body sections. The joins were actually positioned beneath the waistline along the sides, along the side windows and the top edge of the windscreen frame, as well as at the rear.

The research car metamorphosed within a matter of minutes, a procedure involving a minimum of technical fuss. Electromagnets and special locking systems kept the body securely fastened to the basic body. A central connector at the rear linked the body up to the vehicle’s power supply. The electronics automatically detected which variant had been fitted, and enabled the required connections accordingly.