Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the concept of its new compact sports utility vehicle (SUV), the GLA, at the Shanghai Motor Show, held in China, hinting yet again, as with other recent concept vehicles, that the German brand is talking a new, bolder design langauge.

“The Concept GLA marks a new approach for us in the compact SUV segment – this is a sporty and more coupé-like evolution of this category of vehicle,” comments Mercedes-Benz Cars sales and marketing executive VP Dr Joachim Schmidt.

“The Concept GLA . . makes clear the further potential of our compact vehicle architecture, which provides the basis for the A- and B-Class models that led the German market in their respective segments in the first quarter of 2013.”

Under the bonnet of this new concept vehicle sits a four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, rated at 155 kW, with a displacement of 1 991 cc. Power is transmitted to the road through a 7G-DCT dual clutch automatic transmission and 4MATIC all-wheel drive.

The 20-inch wheels, with their five-spoke turbine design, are shod in size 255/45 R 20 tyres. They have been specifically created for the Concept GLA – their tread pattern continues the lines of the spokes in an optical illusion that makes the latter appear longer.

Inside, the four individual seats and the door centre panels are upholstered in natural brown leather. All in all, the Concept GLA incorporates more than 20 m of hand-stitched seams.

The air vents change colour according to the interior tem-perature set by the occupants. At a temperature of 22˚ C, they light up in white. If a cooler temperature is selected for the interior, they turn blue, while an influx of warm air switches the illumin-ation to red.

Luggage can be secured with a spring-loaded four-point harness, as used in helicopters.

A handle is used to fold the backrests of the rear sports seats forward to create a level load compartment floor.

Outside, the Concept GLA’s new headlamps feature laser technology.

The front headlamps of the SUV are each fitted with a laser-beam projector. These not only provide light to drive by but are also capable of projecting pictures or films onto a screen or other surface. Any format that can be operated through the vehicle’s infotainment system, called Comand Online, can serve as a source, such as pictures or films from a smartphone, the Internet or from a hard drive.

Alternatively, the action can be produced live.

The Concept GLA is fitted with two cameras, housed in the front roof rail.

These can be used for far more than just three-dimensional images taken as the Concept GLA drives along: the high-definition cameras can be removed and, for example, fitted to a mountain-bike helmet.

An additional lamp unit in each camera ensures that the lighting is right, whatever the situation.

As an alternative to the projection option, films may also be viewed inside the car on the Comand Online screen.

The laser-beam projectors represent far more than simply an academic exercise on the part of the engineers and designers at Mercedes-Benz, says the German manufacturer.

As a further enhancement of the head-up display, they could also help to improve road safety. The technology could be used, for example, to project the directional instructions from the navigation system onto the road in the form of arrows. In this way other road users, too, would be able to see where the driver is heading.