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New Photos: Mercedes-Benz Concept BlueZERO

July 1, 2009 at 7:55 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Mercedes Benz

Mercedes-Benz Concept BlueZERO

Mercedes-Benz has just released a couple of more photos of their Concept BlueZERO, which many say is most likely a preview of what the next generation B-Class will look like.

But like the name indicates, the BlueZERO is not just a showcase of future production models. The 4220 x 1890 x 1590mm vehicle uses a sandwich floor construction, much like the current A-Class and B-Class, but it’s been modified a little to accomodate electric drive. There are three versions of the Concept BlueZERO but with one commonality, all are front wheel drive with an electric motor at the front axle.

With the BlueZERO E-CELL, two lithium ion battery packs (liquid cooled 35kWh capacity battery) are placed in the sandwich floor behind the electric motor. The other two variants are the BlueZERO F-CELL which is fuel-cell-powered with a battery and hydrogen tank in the sandwich floor.

Finally there is the E-CELL PLUS which is a range extender electric car, with some form of combustion engine used to recharge the batteries, like the Chevy Volt. Right now the proposed combustion engine is an inline-3 turbocharged petrol engine from the smart fortwo, producing 50kW.

Anyway check out the full gallery after the jump.
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Rumour: Daimler to buy stake in Porsche?

June 21, 2009 at 12:42 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Rumours

Panamera
An early spyshot of the Panamera… disguised with W203 peanut headlamps!

With the industry being the way it is now, there have been plenty of talks about this or that brands being sold here and there, and of mergers, alliances, and share swaps.

The latest are rumours that Daimler, who have also been said to possibly do a stake swap with BMW, is in deep talks since the end of May 2009 to take up a stake in Porsche. This was according to a German business magazine called “manager magazin“.

Despite achieving things like owning a large amount of Volkswagen Group shares, Porsche is currently in debt (likely thanks to the Volkswagen stake buys) and has asked for German state aid while in talks to sell a stake to Qatar via the Qatar Investment Authority. Its debt tripled to 9 billion Euros after it raised its Volkswagen stake to 50.8% earli this year.

A Daimler AG spokesperson dismissed the report as speculation, while spokespersons from Porsche and Volkswagen said they were not aware if there were such talks.

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W204 C-Class gets “Special Edition” model

June 18, 2009 at 12:05 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Mercedes Benz

W204 Special Edition

Daimler is now selling a special trim level for the W204 C-Class, a “Special Edition” that can be had in either sedan or wagon bodystyle. The car features darkened front headlamps with a dark cover frame, a new iridium grey paintwork (obsidian black, palladium silver, iridium silver or calcite white optional), shoulderline trim strips in polished aluminium, silver matt radiator grille with a chrome ring and chromed twin louvres, chrome highlights in the bumper, a glossy black B-pillar, and finally it rides on 17-inch 5-spoke light-alloy wheels with mixed-size tyres (235/60R17 at the front, 255/55R17 at the rear), or optional 16 inch wheels.

Look after the jump for a small gallery of the new edition.
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Mercedes-Benz ESF 2009 Safety Innovations

June 13, 2009 at 8:24 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Mercedes Benz, Technology

Braking Bag

Full details and photos of the new Mercedes-Benz ESF 2009 research vehicle have been unveiled. Based on the S 400 HYBRID, the Mercedes-Benz ESF 2009 essentially features 5 key new safety elements which are the following:

  • PRE-SAFE Structure – The inflatable metal structures save weight or increase the stability of structural components. When at rest, the metal section is in a folded state to save space. If its protective effect is required, a gas generator builds up an internal pressure of 10 to 20 bar within fractions of a second, causing the section to unfold for significantly more stability.
  • Braking Bag – If the car’s sensor system concludes that an impact is unavoidable, the Braking Bag located under the car is deployed shortly before the crash and stabilises the car on the road surface by means of a friction coating. The vehicle’s vertical acceleration increases the friction, and helps to decelerate the vehicle before the impact occurs.
  • Interactive Vehicle Communication – The ESF 2009 is able to communicate directly with other vehicles, or via relay stations. Using “ad hoc” networks and Wi-Fi radio technology, it is e.g. able to receive and transmit warnings of bad weather or obstacles in the road.
  • PRE-SAFE Pulse – It reduces the forces acting on the torsos of the occupants during a lateral collision by around one third. It does this by moving them towards the center of the vehicle by up to 50mm as a precautionary measure. As an active restraint system, it uses the air chambers in the side bolsters of the seat backrests.
  • Spotlight lighting function – This partial LED main beam specifically illuminates potential hazards. If the infrared camera of Night View Assist PLUS e.g. detects animals like deer at the roadside or pedestrians on the road, these can be briefly illuminated beyond the normal area covered by the main beams, as if by a spotlight.

Look after the jump for full descriptions of the various technology.
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Preview: Mercedes ESF 2009 Safety Concept

June 10, 2009 at 3:31 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Mercedes Benz, Technology

ESF

Mercedes-Benz has taken the new W221 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid and modified it with experimental safety features. The new testbed is called the ESF 2009 Experimental Safety Vehicle.

The features are quite interesting – inflatable metal structures consisting of side impact bars that can be blown to pressure of between 10 to 20 bar, an “airbag brake” which is located below the car and inflates to create friction with the road to help reduce speed and raise the car up by 80mm to compensate for brake dive, seat bolsters that shift the passengers 50mm into the center of the cabin to reduce injuries from side impacts, and even seatbelts installed inside the airbags.

These are just a preview – the full press release has yet to be unveiled by Daimler. Stay tuned for full details on these experimental safety features.
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Daimler AG takes up 10% stake in Tesla Motors

May 21, 2009 at 3:36 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Mercedes Benz, Tesla Motors

Tesla Model S

Daimler AG has taken up a 10% stake worth US$50 million in electric car maker Tesla Motors, a move that depends their already pre-existing relationship where Tesla would equip 1,000 Smart cars with their electric motor and battery technology. According to Daimler chairman and Mercedes-Benz head Dieter Zetsche, Daimler wanted more than a supplier-customer relationship with Tesla.

“We are in a time of change. This industry is going through a kind of paradigm shift, and has to reinvent itself ultimately to be independent of petroleum and without CO2 emissions. We need fast technology change,” said Zetsche, and it seems that he sees Tesla’s technology as a way to achieve that fast technology change.

Of course this is a big score for the electric car camp. Any big manufacturers who votes yes for electric cars will steer the industry more towards electric motors and batteries instead of fuel cell cars or extended range hybrids as the defacto method of car propulsion in the future. Daimler has also invested in German battery company Li-Tec, and founded a battery production JV with Evonik Industries. These might end up supplying batteries for both Tesla and Daimler electric cars.

This could also mean Mercedes-Benz platforms could be used for future Tesla like a replacement for the Model S (shown above) in the future, but then again with the versatility in packaging with an electric car, a platform designed for a combustion engine might not be the completely optimal solution.
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VIDEO: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Preview

May 18, 2009 at 11:04 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Mercedes Benz, Videos

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

Mercedes-Benz is really letting alot of information on the new SLS AMG out to the public even before the full production car is unveiled or launched. We’ve previously seen sketches, self-snapped “spyshots” and even full blown undisguised interior images, but now here’s over 15 minutes of footage of the SLS AMG on all aspects including the disguised SLS tearing up some roads and some snowy areas, the AMG V8 engine assembly, and so much more. Check the video out after the jump together with the previously released images of the SLS AMG. You can even see the Gullwing doors in action in the video.
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VIDEO: Mercedes-Benz F-CELL Roadster

May 12, 2009 at 6:59 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Mercedes Benz, Videos

F-CELL

Mercedes-Benz talks about the rather odd F-CELL Roadster in this video production which you can watch after the jump. When the F-CELL Roadster was announced near the end of March this year many dismissed it as an April Fool’s gag because of how bizarre it was. It takes retro-futurism to a whole new level, as this is inspired by a model that was way way in the past.

We’re talking about a 1.6 horsepower fuel cell with a top speed of 25km/h, hardly anything that serves modern motoring needs, and we haven’t even gotten around to the lack of a roof yet. If put into production in its current state it could possibly serve as some kind of luxury golf course transportation, or some kind of Segway-like vehicle at most.

Halfway through the video comes the answer – it was actually built by Mercedes-Benz apprentices as some kind of training project for them.

Watch the video after the jump.
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Interior photos of new SLS AMG unveiled!

May 5, 2009 at 1:23 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Mercedes Benz

New SLS

In a rather surprising move, Mercedes-Benz has released photos early of the new yet to be launched SLS AMG, the new Gullwing car to come out of Stuttgart’s stables.

Mercedes-Benz the dashboard is shaped like a wing, and the centre console like the style of a jet. Even the air cond vents are suppoesd to remind you of aircraft engines, with a touch of retro-ism in it. And of course, the new Gullwing car will have “swing-doors”, which are the Gullwing doors.

New SLS

The new Mercedes-Benz SLS-Class will come only in AMG form. The SLS AMG will be powered by AMG’s 6.2 litre V8 monster mounted at the front, mated to a 7-speed dual clutch transmission in a transaxle configuration to help achieve a 48:52 weight distribution, which would be Daimler’s first use of a twin clutch transmission in a Mercedes-Benz car.

The SLS AMG’s chassis will be built with aluminium spaceframe body technology with extensive usage of aluminium even in the suspension system, particularly the double wishbones. A target kerb weight of 1,620kg excluding the driver has been set. This means the 6.2 litre’s 571 horses and 650Nm of torque will propel the SLS AMG to 100 km/h in only 3.8 seconds, and on to a top speed of 315km/h.

New SLS

The V8 AMG engine codenamed M159 will have forged pistons, a reinforced crankshaft bearing, optimised crankcase structure, and a on-demand high-performance oil pump. It will weigh 206 kg.

The transaxle setup of the dual clutch (a real twin clutch, not SPEEDSHIFT MCT) transmission will be similiar to that of the DTM C-Class. Transaxle means while the engine is at the front, the gearbox is at the rear axle. It is connected to the engine with a torque tube, in which a carbon fiber shaft turns at engine speed.

Look after the jump for a full gallery of material released by Mercedes-Benz on the upcoming SLS AMG.
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Mercedes Benz may pull out of Formula 1?

April 27, 2009 at 12:40 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Formula 1, International News, Mercedes Benz

The latest addition to the hot rumor pot is the possibility of Stuttgart-based auto maker Mercedes Benz pulling out of Formula 1 as the recent “lie-gate” scandal involving the McLaren Formula 1 team intensifies. Apparently, Daimler AG’s CEO, Dieter Zetsche has revealed to a German-based publication that, “If circumstances should change, perhaps because of an unreasonable punishment by the FIA, it is possible that we could consider our engagement,”.

In a couple of days, the World Motor Sport Council will meet and a decision will be issued out regarding the scandal that involves the McLaren outfit not being truthful regarding the yellow flag incident at the 2009 season opener in Melbourne, Australia.

The Woking-based outfit is expected to face severe penalties, and it does make sense for Mercedes to think about pulling out if it feels that the FIA’s decision is unreasonable. The premium brand is not only supplying its V8 powerplants to McLaren, but to two other teams as well, including the slower Force India and Brawn GP.

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