No! Sleep! Till L.A.!: Mercedes-Benz to reveal CLC with Beastie Boys' Mike D

Want to be among the first to see Mercedes-Benz's Concept Style Coupe? Then you gotta fight! For your right!

Mercedes will make the world debut of the stylish concept based on the new A-class not at a formal auto show with serious German executives wearing dull gray suits and intoning about market share and engineering excellence, but rather at a "multidisciplinary festival" in April in Los Angeles called "Transmission LA: Audio Visual Club curated by Mike D." Yes, that's the same Mike D who is front man for the seminal hip-hop act the Beastie Boys.

Let us explain. Transmission LA is a 17-day festival of art, music, film and food that will take place at the Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. This is the second such festival, after one in Berlin last year curated by fashion designer Raf Simons. But the L.A. fest will be the first one to feature the world debut of a car. Mercedes helped sponsor the gig, so it got to include something of its own among the artwork. But rather than a GLK or the S, it went with something that should be appropriately hip. Or hip hop. We'll see.

As curator, Mike D will figure out where and how the Concept Style Coupe will be presented, but definitely look for it to be surrounded by "art."

MARK VAUGHN
Mike D of the Beastie Boys will curate the event in Los Angeles.

We asked Mike D if he, as a successful recording artist, had a garage full of cool cars. We figured a Lamborghini or a Bentley was pretty much required of any member of the hip-hop nation worth his or her bling.

"Well, I live in New York," was all he said to that question. Just as nobody walks in L.A., nobody drives in New York.

The L.A. event will be less like an art exhibit and more like a place you can hang out.

"When I was first approached about doing this, I thought I wanted to do not only visual art but also music, DJs, food, the complete sensory experience," Mike D said.

The food will include some by Kogi Korean BBQ food truck chef Roy Choi, whose spicy tacos we first tasted when he was serving them out of the back of a converted Scion xB at another car-related art happening in L.A.

"We'll be there every day cooking something new," said Choi.

With Mercedes taking part in the event, Choi said he might even work some knockwurst into his tacos and try a kimchee effect on some sauerkraut. We haven't been disappointed yet.

As you might guess, Mercedes is hoping to use this setting to draw a slightly different audience for this car.

"It's for people who think a little bit differently," Mercedes spokesman Adam Paige said. "We're creating a platform that speaks to people who aren't just car people."

Well, now we really want to see this thing.

While the more stylish new A-class was shown at Geneva to solid reviews, the platform is also set to be used beneath the upcoming CLC, the CLC Shooting Brake and the GLC off-roader, all three of which are set to be sold in North American. The Concept Style Coupe is just one of several A-class variants. But it could be the 2015 model year before we in the United States get an A, Paige said. For now, you'll just have to check out this concept in this happening setting.

The festival opens to the public on April 20 and runs for 17 days, closing on May 6. The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA is at 152 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90013. Visit www.moca.org or www.theavantgardediaries.com.

By Mark Vaughn