Archive for Mercedes Benz

Here’s the wagon version of the V8-powered Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG – 630Nm of torquey goodness and enough bootspace for nearly all family activities. And remember, there’s even small rearward-facing seats in case you need them. These photos are pretty hi-res so they’re good for replacing that RS6 Avant wallpaper you’ve been having on your computer for the past few months, if you’re bored of the Audi.

Check out the hi-res photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of GALLERY: Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Estate

The equivalent fuel costs of 3.3L/100km of diesel, and 0g/km of CO2 emissions. These are the eco-vital statistics of the new Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL, which will be delivered to about 200 customers in the US and Europe early 2010.

These customers will consist of mainly owners in Hamburg, Stuttgart and California where Daimler has cooperations going with government authorities and utility/oil companies. This car and the decision to sell it is the fruit of more than 100 test vehicles and a combined total of over 4.5 million km of trial testing.

The B-Class F-CELL uses a 136hp electric motor with a massive 290Nm of torque from as low as 1rpm. That’s basically the entire rev range of the motor. The hydrogen capacity can take the car up to 385km on a full tank (NEDC driving cycle) and the tank can be replenished at a hydrogen refueling system in only 3 minutes, which is way shorter time than any EV can promise, even with quick chargers.

There is a 1.4kWh lithium ion battery that is used to temporarily store the charge recovered from brake energy regeneration and this energy will also be used to provide a power boost to the electric motor.

Mercedes-Benz’s stand is that internal combustion engines powered by fossil fuels will remain to be relevant for a long time to come – alternative energy solutions as they are now do not satisfy the needs of long haul travel not only just for consumers, but especially inter-state transport. But urban transport within cities will definitely benefit from zero-emission and low cost electric drive.

Click here to read the rest of Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL in early 2010

Here’s some new footage of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate for those who are wagon lovers and admire Stuttgart’s pretty good-looking execution of the wagon bodytype on the new W212 E-Class. You get to see some of the wagon’s features in action such as the easy one-pull handle that can be used to fold the rear seats down in order to extend the wagon’s load area. The rear-facing third row small seats are also mentioned as being optional. Watch the video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of VIDEO: New footage of the W212 E-Class Estate

For some reason, Mercedes-Benz had a great mix of ingredients – a video team, DTM driver Jamie Green and the new Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG, but the end result was a video that was quite devoid of any action. I believe the appropriate word to be used here would be “yawnfest”. But we do get to hear the sweet V8 growling away, albeit only a little towards the end of the video. And for that alone, watching the video is worth it, though I wouldn’t watch it a second time.

Enjoy the video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Jamie Green takes the E 63 AMG to the track

The full details of the new E-Class Estate are here. The new E-Class Estate measures 4895mm long, 1854mm wide and 1471mm tall and can carry up to a maximum of 1950 liters. It looks like a pretty sweet wagon really, with a proper wagon-like roofline. Give me this anytime rather than a fancy elongated hatchback with a sloping roofline!

A total of 10 engines will be available with the new W212 Estate, with an initial 5 engines offered – the E220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY, E250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY, E350 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY, E 350 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY and the V8-powered E500.

Like most estate vehicles that are anticipated to carry heavier loads than their sedan brethren, the W212 Estate features an automatic self-levellling suspension at the rear as standard equipment, which helps ensure the ride height remains at the same level no matter what the vehicle’s load is. The suspension setup has been modified over the sedan version for the wagon – this means its got stiffer shock absorbers and torsion bar stabilisers.

Look after the jump for a nice full hi-res photo gallery.

Click here to read the rest of New E-Class Estate: full details and photos unveiled!

These medium-res photos of the new E-Class Wagon found their way on the net earlier this week. How it looks like is really no surprise considering this new W212 E-Class was first shown to the world in wagon form. But there’s one thing that caught my eye…

The new E-Class Wagon has third row seats! They’re quite small though, and they face rearwards. But they have proper seatbelts and all. Probably a nice cushiony area for your dog to lie You can look after the jump for more of the leaked photos.

More details will be unveiled when Daimler releases the full press pack.

Click here to read the rest of W212 E-Class Wagon features 3rd row seats

Click for a larger diagram

After rumors emerged that Mercedes will be producing an electric version of the upcoming SLS AMG Gullwing sports car, the auto maker has now officially announced that such a car will go into production.

Called the Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing with electric drive, this emissions free sports car will have a total of four electric motors positioned near the wheels, with one transmission per axle that will transmit the power. With this arrangement there will not be any transmission losses, according to Mercedes.

The Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing with electric drive can produce up to 526 horsepower, with a massive torque figure of 880Nm which is mind blowing! This allows the electric Gullwing to hit 100 km/h in just 4 seconds flat, up to an unspecified top speed.

According to Mercedes, the 4-second sprint figure rivals the figure offered by the 6.3 liter V8-powered Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing that develops 571 horses. Power is derived from a 400-volt battery pack (with an energy content of 48 kWh and a capacity of 40 Ah), that can be recharged via plug-in, as well as via regenerative braking.

Mercedes also revealed that the handling and driving characteristics of the Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing with electric drive will match its carbon fuel-powered sibling. The auto maker also mentioned that the electric car will have an optimum weight distribution, which is achieved by placing parts of the batter pack in front of the firewall, in the centre tunnel and behind the seats.

Both Mercedes and AMG will be producing the electric Gullwing, and will have Deutsche Accumotive GmbH & Co. (a joint venture between Daimler AG and Evonik Industries AG) to provide the battery technology required in future. The auto maker did not reveal any information regarding production schedule of the electric sports car in the press release.

The E-Guard is not your regular W212 E-Class – it’s been beefed up substantially to give extra protection to the occupant inside, but the extra protection are all hidden and cannot be seen by the naked eye. It starts off as a regular E-Class chassis, made to regular series production standards.

Next, protective elements are installed. These are precisely formed to exactly fit the contours of the bodyshell without encroaching on the interior space. The fit must be perfect to provide proper protection. The slightest misfit might cause a bullet to be able to pierce through. There is also optional underbody armour, which will allow the entire underfloor of the passenger area to withstand the explosion of a DM51 hand grenade.

All the extra protection helps the E-Guard conform to VR4 protection class. BMW’s “Security” series of armored cars also conform to this same specification. This means it can withstand handgun bullets of up to .44 Magnum in calibre at random angles of fire and not just via certain angles, to provide the most realistic protection possible. Runflat tyres in 17 inch size are used for additional protection (all BMWs except some M cars have this as standard), ensuring the car can still go at up to 50km and 80km/h speed in case attackers damage the tyres.

Of course all the extra parts makes the E-Guard so much more heavier than a regular E. Brakes, suspension and stability control systems must be adjusted and recalibrated to suit the new weight. The E-Guard uses a special Level II version of the AIRMATIC air suspension system as standard.

Look after the jump for some pretty interesting videos talking about the E-Guard and its assembly process. It also demonstrates with a loaded gun the difference between a normal W212 and the E-Guard in terms of bulletproofness. Enjoy the videos!

Click here to read the rest of Mercedes-Benz E-Guard VR4 Armored Vehicle

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.

Click here to read the rest of New Photos: Mercedes-Benz Concept BlueZERO

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.