Mercedes Concept A: Coming to a shopping centre near you

Mercedes has decide to take the Mercedes Concept A – the Concept version of the new A-Class – on a tour of UK Shopping Centres.

We did think there was a chance that the new 2012 / 2013 Mercedes A Class could make an appearance at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but instead Mercedes concentrated on the new B-Class.

And with the next European Motor Show not arriving until Geneva in the Spring, Mercedes has decided it will be a good idea to take the Concept A – the Concept version of the new A-Class – on a tour of UK shopping centres to introduce their new baby to the people who might buy it.

So over the course of the next month Mercedes will be trotting off to a shopping centre in each major part of the UK (don’t tell the Welsh – or the Northern Irish), with a visit to Braehead in Glasgow, Arndale in Manchester, Bullring in Birmingham and Westfield in London.

And Mercedes are actually making the A-Class Concept tour in to something of an event, rather than just a static display for shoppers to gawp at. There’ll be a proper reveal at each shopping centre, with the Concept A hidden from view in a mirrored box surrounded by sound reactive LEDs that change pattern and colour in response to the sounds and movements of passing shoppers.

At regular intervals – so each new wave of shoppers can be grabbed – there’ll be a loud bong and the lights will start to flash and ‘Ta-Daa’-…the Concept A gets revealed.

In between turning up for weekend duty at the shopping centres, the Concept A will be visiting 70 Mercedes dealers up and down the UK and will be transported around in a great big transparent container to grab as much attention as it can as it traverses the highways and byways of the UK.

We’re hoping that this big showcasing of the Concept A – which we think is a fine plan – means the new A-Class will be very similar to the Concept, rather than the rather plain-looking patent filing images we published a few months ago.

Because if it’s not, Mercedes will be storing up an awful lot of unfullfillable expectations.

2012 Mercedes A-Class Concept Photo Gallery

[nggallery id=580 template=customlinks]

(10 photos – click any thumbnail for full gallery)

Mercedes Concept-A Video

Mercedes Concept-A Shopping Centre Tour Dates

• Bullring Shopping Centre, Birmingham (Saturday 24^th and Sunday 25^th September)
• Westfield London (Saturday 1^st and Sunday 2^nd October)
• Arndale Shopping Centre, Manchester (Saturday 8^th and Sunday 9^th October)
• Braehead Shopping Centre, Glasgow (Friday 14^th and Saturday 15^th October)