Studio 3A

Mercasus Bow

The mutant vehicle is a Mercedes 230 (1978) converted into a bi-plane. Designed to fly through the Karoo desert leaving a trail of rainbows, good vibrations, happiness and inevitably tornadoes of dust in its wake.

The bottom wing is made of hammocks carrying up to 4 people per wing, while the top wing is a vivid display of lights and colours. A DJ booth placed in the trunk along with 2 PA speakers. A satellite dish covered in a mosaic of mirrors will harvest and focus light onto a sprinkle of water thus forming rainbows.

Flight has been an obsession for mankind since time immemorial. Maybe because of the promise it holds of giving, even for a brief moment, freedom from the shackles of gravity and mundane terrestrial existence. Flight is the embodiment of the ephemeral for it lasts but a fleeting moment. Our winged Merc, like a modern day Pegasus, will give the community the experience of flight from the comfort of a hammock compounded with these most ephemeral of phenomena: rainbows and music. Both suspended on the hammock of spacetime: instant, mysterious and evanescent.

The mutant vehicle is based on a Mercedes 230 (1978) with the roof cut off. The bi-plane wings with length 2.5 meters and width 1.8 meters on each side with the bottom one made from steel tubes welded to the chassis (as per 3D model) via brackets for stability. The top wing will be made of lighter material such as waxed canvas and wood, but stabilised to bottom wing via beams. The wings will be easy to mount/dismount and foldable to facilitate transportation. The trunk and piece between rear seats will be removed to allow space for a DJ booth. LEDs, mirrors and light effects will be wrapped around the wings for max visibility at night. The suspensions will be stiffened to allow for the extra weight, and legs attached to tip of the wing to stabilise when vehicle is idle.

A big thanks to the Freudian Slips to make this dream come true.