ConceptFASCINATION for Paris: The latest from the minds at Mercedes-Benz

The ConceptFASCINATION from the Mercedes-Benz design studio debuts at the Paris Motor Show the first of next month. A flowery description of the car’s every detail - inside and out - accompanied the release of these photographs. So why does a company indulge in such obviously expensive design exercises? Here's how the Mercedes-Benz PR department describes the process:

"The ConceptFASCINATION study was not created merely to arouse interest in a new and unusual design concept. It is much more a matter of giving designers the opportunity to play around with unconventional topics, to look at things in a new way and to explore new ideas. Design studies also serve to stimulate a closer dialogue with customers and to gauge the public reaction to new ideas for cars. They help Mercedes-Benz designers to get a feel for future styling trends and to develop new design idioms."

We must admit that this is Benz one beautiful car in the idiom of the "shooting brake" - ala Aston Martin DB5 and Volvo P1800ES (see gallery).