Mercedes-Benz Golf Cart

The Mercedes-Benz name has been applied to vehicles as diverse as buses to farm tractors, but not a golf cart. That said, the new Vision Golf Cart design theoretically represents what a Mercedes-Benz-built golf cart would look like.

Surprisingly, the finished product isn’t based off a Smart ForTwo. Mercedes-Benz solicited ideas from golf and car fans alike for features they’d most like to see in a golf cart of the future. From there, the ideas were selected by a team led by Gorden Wagner, Daimler’s vice president of design, and incorporated into the finished design, which was executed by Mercedes-Benz’s Advanced Design Center in Carlsbad, California.

The Vision Golf Cart is decidedly ovoid – or is that golf-ball-esque? – but Wagener describes its form as “a refined, simplified, yet functional shape.”



“I was very inspired by the idea of designing a golf cart, giving it a new shape and new sorts of meaning,” Wagner said in a prepared statement. “Why not treat a golf cart like a car, and make it a ‘Golf Car?’”
Like most current golf carts, the Vision Golf Cart is theoretically electric powered. In-wheel electric motors free up space within the body itself. The cart can be charged with a conventional corded charger, but roof-mounted solar panels could help boost the batteries, especially when left out on the course during a sunny day.

There’s no steering wheel or brake/accelerator pedals to be found; instead, the Vision Golf Cart takes after the F200 Vision concept, and offers only a joystick for directional control. The center console offers plenty of storage, along with an iPhone/iPad dock, heated/chilled cupholders, heads-up display, and a so-called Fore button, which sends a warning signal to other golf carts when a drive goes a little awry. Note the air vents – Mercedes-Benz says the Vision Golf Cart boasts both air conditioning and heating, along with Airscarf heat vents placed in the seats.

A dorsal fin-like appendage separates the golf bag holder aft of the cabin, while specialized holders for umbrellas, sand bottles, and other items are included. According to Mercedes, storage was a “very commonly expressed request” from participants in this design exercise.

The entire project is entirely whimsical and more than a little tongue-in-cheek, but we can’t help but see a few good ideas incorporated here and there. Just don’t count on Mercedes-Benz to introduce them to the golf cart industry anytime soon – or ever.


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