Saarland-based haute couture automobile specialist wins two awards at the China Shanghai International Technology Fair (CSITF)

Überherrn/Shanghai – Rolfhartge GmbH returned from their debut outing at the seventh CSITF technology exhibition in Shanghai with two awards. Standing out from the high horsepower and “Bling, Bling” normally associated with aftermarket tuning the innovative Rolfhartge Smart Luxury concept clearly impressed the expert judges at this mid-April event.

Two awards that link the Yangtze to the Saar

“One of the ten Most Popular Projects” and “The Best of 2019 Among Ten Most Popular Projects” out of over 900 national and international exhibitors – these were the accolades awarded to the Rolfhartge MR 500 with its innovative Healthcare Package.

Using the luxurious Mercedes-Maybach limousine as the platform for their Healthcare Package, Rolfhartge connects the dots between conventional high performance and health and wellness.

A revelatory combination of comfort, wellbeing and effortless performance meet in the MR500. Here all interior surfaces are treated with a liquid glass coating normally used to sterilise human prostheses before surgery, and keep surfaces in intensive care units free of harmful bacteria.

Another highlight of the Healthcare Package is the AIR PURIFIER CAR, an industry first in cabin air filtration. This special filter uses environmentally friendly photocatalysis to kill harmful microorganisms, germs, odours, vapours, and capture solvent evaporation from interior plastics. In combination with the titanium dioxide-coated interior surface of the housing, a UV light tube is used to reduce nitric oxide emissions, a recognised air pollutant.

The third innovative technology in the MR 500 is a magnetic field generator built into the rear seats. Another first in an automobile application, the smartphone App controlled magnetic field system encourages dilation of the occupants veins, “increasing blood circulation speed by up to 2.5 times”, says Rolf Hartge, quoting the Institute for Microcirculation Berlin. Increased blood circulation leads to a better supply of nutrients and oxygen to the body’s organs and enhanced purification of the blood cells. The result is improved regeneration and increased wellbeing.

Rolfhartge GmbH attended CSITF as part of the official Delegation of the Saarland, and Guest of Honour. With this year’s event boasting 1,200 exhibitors and around 50,000 trade visitors, CSITF is one of the biggest and most important trade fairs for international technology trade in Asia.

The core philosophy of the event, “Better technology, better life”, was supported by the theme, “Innovation driven development, protection of intellectual property, and promotion of the technology trade”.

The MR500 limousine that took pride of place on the 400 sq. m Saarland stand was a focus of interest for political and business representatives as well as general visitors to the exhibition.

“Smart Luxury” – the new approach to tuning à la Rolfhartge

In 2016 Rolf Hartge and his son Hendrik put together a small team of experienced specialists for a comeback to match or exceed the level of service his valued customers enjoyed before his retirement in 2007. The new company, Rolfhartge GmbH is recognised by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) as a vehicle manufacturer.

The accolades gained so far serve to reinforce the unique market positioning and goals set out by current Rolfhartge developments. “Simply duplicating what the competition already offers was never an option for me,” explains Rolf Hartge. “We set out to radically reinterpret the concept of luxury vehicle personalisation, eschewing the traditional interpretation of tuning by focusing instead on innovations in design, health, comfort and a feel-good atmosphere. In short, Smart Innovations meets Luxury to create our Smart Luxury concept.”

According to the Rolf Hartge philosophy luxury is not an end in itself, but rather the combination of pleasure with innovative added value. “The car is increasingly becoming the third living space alongside home and office, and the onset of semi-autonomous driving only underlines this,” he says.

To take full advantage of this new dimension in personal mobility, Rolfhartge has moved the emphasis towards value added areas such as health and wellness. This approach is especially appreciated by clients in the Middle Kingdom, which has a long tradition of health enhancing practices such as magnetic therapy and acupuncture.

As a first step, this new elemental interpretation of tuning at Rolfhartge sets out to provide a clean and germ free interior environment with optimum air quality in their vehicles.

Based in Überherrn, Saarland, Rolfhartge GmbH specialises in the smart customisation of Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Maybach vehicles.

Their export-oriented conversions take an innovative approach to alloy wheel design, ride comfort and bespoke interior appointments, with special focus on occupant health and wellbeing.