Anyone looking in from the street can see: the AMG showroom presents the highlights of the AMG product range in a sporty setting. And to those who take a closer look what seems like simple paddock decoration reveals itself as something completely different.
Whatever sits in the "top shelf" of the Affalterbach showroom, right behind the large glass windows on Daimlerstrasse, frequently has passers-by press their noses to the window: Mercedes-AMG GT3, Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series (Kraftstoffverbrauch kombiniert: 12,8 l/100 km | CO2-Emissionen kombiniert: 292 g/km | Emissionsangabe [1]) or classic cars such as the AMG 300 CE 6.0 ("Hammer"). Currently, a solar beam-yellow Mercedes-AMG SLS Black Series is the centre of attraction. "Black" like the colour of the tarmac on racetracks and like the tyre marks left by race cars at start-off. Which makes sure that this car matches the showroom setting extremely well: the vehicles on show sit on starting grid-like markers while a start/finish line and donuts grace the entrance area. It is in front of these circular tyre marks that visitors often scratch their heads wondering whether these realistic-looking burnouts just might have been created by one of the cars in the showroom's line-up after all.
Another item that matches the sporty setting is a stack of tyres next to the SLS Black Series car. It might be taken for just another decorative item to enhance the atmosphere. But wait, why is there a tablet on top of the tyres? At a closer look, this stack reveals itself as a so-called "AMG Sound Counter". It plays the engine sound of the various AMG models. Simply select the desired AMG, press the start button and then lean back and enjoy the car start up and drive by, always at the ideal rpm, of course.
To make sure that the vehicle sound played back from the recording sounds precisely like the real cars, the recordings are made by an entire team of specialists on an airfield in Northern Germany. Per vehicle several recordings are made, placing countless microphones along the airstrip. These recordings are then fine-tuned by a sound designer, who is a trained classical pianist and composer and whose trained ear picks up even the smallest interference or distortion.
What has been recorded and mixed with such precision of course requires special equipment to be played back. In order to ensure really dynamic sound, the Sound Counter was fitted with frequency-separating filters which direct specific sounds to specific components in the speakers. By the way, the tyre stack is not just a set of used slicks picked up by the trackside. These latter would have been too smelly for indoor use and would have left black marks on the hands and clothes of the Sound Counter users. Which is why a manufacturer of shop decoration was commissioned to handcraft show tyres that are better suited for the intended use.
Any visitor wishing to not just enjoy looking at the vehicle on show by the window but also to take photos of it is very welcome to do so, either by smartphone or – and this is yet another specialty of the AMG showroom in Affalterbach – using the Social Media Cambox right in front of the car. These photos can then be not just printed out in the good old way but also e-mailed or posted in the social media straight from the Cambox.
