Crowds gathered around a show-stopping purple coupe at the 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show, which was giving all the wrong names a run for their money with its doors that flung wide open like a bird taking to the skies. The Boschert B300 Gullwing was already eye-catching, but what truly set it apart was what lurked beneath the hood. Hartmut Boschert, an engineer from Emmendingen in southern Germany, had set his sights on creating something completely new out of a regular Mercedes-Benz 300 CE from the W124 generation.

Drivers who enter the all-new 2026 Mercedes-Benz EQS will note immediately that the controls have undergone significant changes. The round wheel we’ve all grown accustomed to has been replaced by a yoke that is flat on top and bottom but curves down just slightly enough to cradle your hands at the 9 and 3 locations when they’re properly positioned. Mercedes engineered almost every feature of this yoke to make getting in and out of the car easier, while simultaneously maintaining your view straight ahead clear and unobstructed by the instrument display.