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1. Preface
2. The Future of the Original: The Research Cars of Mercedes-Benz
3. From idea to finished research car
4. The research cars of Mercedes-Benz
5. The Benz patent motorcar
6. Mercedes-Benz C 111
7. Auto 2000
8. NAFA
9. Mercedes-Benz F 100
10. Mercedes-Benz C 112
11. Mercedes-Benz Vario Research Car
12. Mercedes-Benz F 200 Imagination
13. Mercedes-Benz F 300 Life Jet
14. Mercedes-Benz F 400 Carving
15. Mercedes-Benz F 500 Mind
16. Mercedes-Benz bionic car
17. Mercedes-Benz F 600 HYGENIUS
18. Mercedes-Benz F 700
Preface
Research is the motor of progress. It has a long-standing tradition at Daimler where it occupies a key position. Findings from our own research have always set the pace in the development of new vehicles – and this is why we officially established a dedicated Research unit in the early 1970s.
With our innovations, we have been setting standards on a global scale – and will continue to do so in the future. Research has always been the basis of our success, as borne out by history which goes back to the founding fathers of our company: in 1885, Gottlieb Daimler installed his high-speed internal combustion engine in a two-wheeler, the Riding Car. Independently of Daimler, Carl Benz presented his Patent Motor Car in 1886 – the world’s first holistic design of an automobile. Nobody talked about research cars in either case at the time but both the Riding Car and the Patent Motor Car marked the starting point of our tradition of creating groundbreaking vehicle concepts in order to obtain findings for the development of tomorrow’s motor vehicles.
In Mercedes-Benz research cars, new technologies can be experienced, tested and evaluated. They are fully operational and ready to drive. With these cars, we are continuously further developing a combination that is characteristic of Mercedes-Benz – that of fascination and responsibility.
The Mercedes-Benz F 100 of 1991, for instance, featured not only a novel seating concept with a correspondingly pioneering bodywork design but also numerous electronic functions for enhanced safety and comfort. The Mercedes-Benz F 400 Carving of 2002 was designed as a sporty vehicle, demonstrating new findings in suspension technology. The latest addition to our lineup of research cars is the Mercedes-Benz F 700 which made its debut in 2007. With this car, Mercedes-Benz redefines the concept of motoring refinement. This study of a luxurious limousine of the future shows how outstanding ride comfort can be combined with great environmental compatibility – and superior performance with unusually low fuel consumption. With its innovative DIESOTTO drive concept and the PRE-SCAN suspension – both developments of corporate Research departments – the F 700, too, is setting new standards.
This brochure presents the company’s more recent research cars to you – from the Mercedes-Benz C 111 of 1969 through to the F 700. And our researchers are already working on the next research car – because the future of the automobile begins today.
The inventor and his creation: Karl Benz (in front) at the wheel of his patent motor car model III, together with Friedrich von Fischer, equally a member of the Board of Management of Benz & Cie.
Benz Patent Motor Car – The world’s first automobile
Mercedes-Benz C 111/I with a three-rotor Wankel-engine, 1969.
Mercedes-Benz C 111/I with a three-rotor Wankel-engine, on the test track at Untertürkheim, 1969.
Mercedes-Benz C 111/I with a three-rotor Wankel-engine, 1969.
Test drive on the Hockenheim race track: Mercedes-Benz C 111/I with a three-rotor Wankel-engine, 1969.
Mercedes-Benz C 111/I with a three-rotor Wankel-engine, 1969.
Three generations of the C 111:
-on the right: C 111/II, 1970.
-in the middle: C 111/I, 1969.
-on the left (background): the first prototype version of the C 111/I.
Prototype C 111-1 and C 111-2
C 111-II
Tomorrow’s car on the move: The Auto 2000 research car, shown here in operation in 1982. Among other things, it served the purpose of testing different propulsion technologies.
Auto 2000 – testing of different drive systems
From autumn 1981 the “Auto 2000” research car was used to test new engine and aerodynamic concepts.
Outlining the future of the urban car: Mercedes-Benz NAFA (1982).
NAFA – the short-distance vehicle
Innovative from its powertrain through to its sliding doors: NAFA study of 1982.
Made for two: As early as 1982, the NAFA model presented a practical automotive solution to problems of urban mobility.
Technology pure – the F 100
The C 112 research vehicle, Active Body Control (ABC)
Four cars in one - the Vario Research Car
The Vario Research Car of 1995 combines four vehicle concepts in one. The car can be fitted with different body types.
Highlights of the F 200 Imagination include an innovative operating and display system. It was first presented in Paris in 1996.
F 200, studio shot, 3/4 view from in front, driver's door open
Pioneering drive-by-wire technology allows the car to be steered by a sidestick in the centre console.
The F 300 Life-Jet was presented at the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA) in 1997 as a new vehicle concept which combines the cornering dynamics of a motorcycle with the safety of a passenger car.
F 400 Carving research vehicle with dynamic chassis technology, driving shot, 3/4 view from in front
The F 500 Mind research vehicle: a research laboratory on wheels for the technology of the future
The Mercedes-Benz bionic car as a concept vehicle
DaimlerChrysler’s fuel cell vehicle ensemble features a very young “gallery of ancestors” (right). It took the Group’s engineers only 11 years to go from the “granddaddy” Necar 1 (rear, left) to the F 600 (front, right). The bridge to the future is the B-Class F-Cell (rear, right), which should be on the road within the next few years.
Powered by a zero-emission fuel cell drive with an output of 85 kW/115 hp, the F 600 HYGENIUS consumes the equivalent of 2.9 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres, making it the first fuel cell vehicle to cover over 400 kilometres on a single tank of hydrogen.
F 600 HYGENIUS: The images on both high-resolution colour displays in the dashboard are diverted by means of two mirrors before being projected to appear at a point 1.40 metres in front of the driver.
F 600 HYGENIUS: Mercedes-Benz has devised a revolutionary new seat for the driver featuring a two-piece backrest cushion whose height, width and tilt can be adjusted to the contours of the occupant's body by means of electric motors, and which offers a particularly high level of support in the midriff area.
With an overall exterior length of 5.18 meters the F 700 is a little shorter than the current long-wheelbase version of the S-Class, but with its generously sized wheelbase of 3.45 meters the research car excels the production model by impressive 28.5 centimeters.
With its F 700 research car, Mercedes-Benz redefi nes the idea of effortless, superior refi nement. This concept for a future luxurious touring sedan shows how outstanding riding quality can be combined with high levels of environmental friendliness, and good performance with exceptionally low fuel consumption.
Whereas the three other doors open conventionally (hinges at the forward edge, handles at the rear), the fourth door is hinged at the rear. This facilitates boarding and leaving for the passenger when the REVERSE seat is positioned opposite the direction of travel. The driver’s door and the front passengers door also “observe” their surroundings attentively. In the base of the mirror of this PRE-SCAN door there is a very compact laser scanner which examines the area in which the door swings open for any obstacles. If collisions threaten, the door is arrested by a controllable hydraulic cylinder.
The spacious interior, the innovative, multifunctional configuration of the seats, or the use of elegant but natural materials enable an extremely relaxed form of transportation. With its REVERSE seat the F 700 breaks up the firmly established seat arrangement of conventional sedans and offers individual seating positions facing, or with one’s back to, the direction of travel, always affording maximum spaciousness and supreme comfort.
“SERVO-HMI” – the innovative operating concept. The display is not only particularly gentle on the eyes; the number of controls also has been appreciably reduced and the menu structure has been made strikingly simple and self-explanatory. The driver can “discuss” more complex inputs, such as a destination for navigation purposes, in dialogue with an avatar, a virtual operating assistant.
The exceptional efficiency of the overall concept of the F 700 is evident at first sight: its design is distinguished by soft, flowing forms. “Aqua Dynamic” is the name the designers have given to this design idiom with which they translated the flow dynamics of a fish into the design. The design provides an immediately indication that much room has been given to the passengers.
Mercedes-Benz F 700 research car, technology
The future oriented DIESOTTO-powertrain with its 1.8-l displacement, 4-cylinder spark-ignition combines the performance of a gasoline engine and the high torque and fuel economy of a state-of-the-art diesel together with extremely clean emissions. Additionally, CO2 emissions of a mere 127 grams per kilometer correspond to consumption of only 5.3 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers (44.3 mpg), extremely low for a vehicle of this class. The new technology package includes features such as direct gasoline injection, turbocharging and a variable compression. At the core of this innovation lies the controlled auto ignition, a highly effi cient combustion process similar to that of a diesel. The DIESOTTO-system can be operated using conventional gasoline fuel.
The “eyes” of the F 700 are integrated into the headlamps. With two laser scanners the active PRE-SCAN suspension scans the roadway in front of the car. The hydraulically controlled active suspension proactively compensates for detected hindrances, enabling entirely new comfort characteristics.
Source: eMercedesBenz - The Unofficial Mercedes-Benz Weblog
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Damn! It took me half hour just to edit, copy and paste all of this...
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I'm sure that all you MB enthusiasts will enjoy this article!
