New ACH145 helicopter in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz
Airbus Corporate Helicopters and Mercedes-Benz have signed an agreement to renew a very successful design collaboration that introduced the concept of a partnership between the automotive and aerospace industries in 2010.
Since the launch, 26 unique copies of the ACH145 Mercedes-Benz Style Edition have been sold, and at the European Rotors show in Cologne, the companies announced that a redesign of the helicopter is already underway to further reflect modern design values.
The twin-engine ACH145 typically seats four to eight passengers and has a compact size particularly suited to the yacht market. It has recently been fitted with a new five-bladed rotor, providing increased comfort in the cabin and 150 kg of additional payload.
Mercedes-Benz is applying its unique expertise to take customer service to a new level of luxury based on its successful Sensual Purity design philosophy.
Frederic Lemos, head of Airbus Corporate Helicopters, said: “The ACH145 Mercedes-Benz Style Edition has been a great success every year since its launch. Our customers particularly appreciate the exploratory potential of this model, combined with an incredibly refined interior that perfectly matches our customers’ lifestyle. In a sense, it provides the off-road capabilities of the Mercedes-Benz G Class with the comfort of a Mercedes-Maybach.”
Gorden Wagener, Mercedes-Benz chief designer, said: “We look back on a successful collaboration that has already lasted ten years and now look forward to entering the next stage of evolution. Our design language of ‘Sensual Purity’, which guides the development of all our products, has been aligned with the features that helicopter interior design entails. It embodies our understanding of luxury and in the air. This design collaboration is very close to our heart, because creating a typical Mercedes space inside a helicopter is a great challenge and inspiration.”