New Mercedes heralds future technology

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post , Chiba, Japan

Tough competition in the automotive industry forces carmakers to keep searching for better technology, whether designing a more fuel-efficient engine or providing more features inside the cars to pamper both drivers and passengers.

Once a new technology is devised, it has to be tested in a car to assess its safety and effectiveness before being placed in the production line.

During the recent 37th Tokyo Motor Show which ended on Wednesday, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its Mercedes F 500 Mind research car at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

The four-seater fast back sedan showcases new ideas to enhance the safety, driving technology and comfort of future Mercedes passenger cars.

The German carmaker started its research project with the introduction of the F 100 in 1991. The F 100 incorporated innovative features like a proximity radar, voice control and automatic emergency call facility.

Such features now have become standard items for most of Mercedes' current passengers cars.

As the fifth generation of the research car, the Mercedes F 500 Mind includes the use of a hybrid diesel engine, space saving with innovative pedals, two-way doors and a unique instrument display.

The Mercedes F 500 Mind is powered by a V8 diesel engine able to generate 250 horsepower or 184 kilowatts (kW) combined with a powerful 50 kW electric motor which can be switched on and off by an electronic controller responding to the traffic situation and driving manner.

The V8 diesel engine, taken from the S-Class line, consumes 20 percent less fuel than a comparable engine.

The electric motor can take over, for example, when moving off from rest, in stop-go conditions or other situations where an internal combustion engine does not operate at optimal efficiency.

The V8 can provide sharp acceleration once the driver demands more power which an electric motor cannot provide.

Mercedes F 500 Mind itself is designed with a new, sleek style giving the vehicle a different look from other Mercedes sedans.

On the front end, for example, it has a new, large three-bar horizontal grill with new type of tiered headlamps.

The curved bumper and fender line is relayed to the wing mirrors giving a sense of continuous, uninterrupted lines from the front end to the front seat area.

In the back end, it has a rounded, capsule form emphasizing its fastback design.

In the interior, the F 500 Mind offers spaciousness in the rear seats with a body length of some 5 meters and a wheelbase of about 2.9 meters when compared to the conventional sedan in its class.

Such spaciousness is possible because of the use of an innovative electronic accelerator and brake pedals in the form of pressure-sensitive surfaces replacing the old pedals.

Not only is the car equipped with latest engine technology, the F 500 also has two-way rear doors thanks to new door-opening technology.

The doors can be opened in a conventional direction in which both doors open forward or from the center.

In the center-opening mode, the B-pillar stump moves backward with the rear door to provide a 1.9-meter opening for passenger entry and exit.

Such door arrangement forces the absence of full-size B- pillars which are important to provide structural rigidity and protection against side impacts.

Mercedes engineers, however, came up with the idea of placing an interior pillar located in the middle of the vehicle towards the rear and connects the reinforced floor pan to the roof structure.

The interior pillar also houses the air-conditioning ducts and interior lighting units.

Mercedes claims that the interior pillar will not compromise the company's standard on passengers' safety and structural rigidity.

In addition to the spacious interior, the dashboard houses an innovative instrument and control panel offering the driver with more flexible information delivery while reducing fatigue at the same time.

The dials and displays in the instrument cluster are programmable and the images can be optically superposed or combined. The driver can call up a wide range of information at the push of a button on the steering wheel.

An advanced voice control system allows the driver to hear any traffic information without being heard by the front and rear passengers thanks to a cleverly devised, ultrasound-based driver information system.

Being a research car, Mercedes F 500 Mind also comes with state-of-the-art "laboratory bench" which folds out toward the rear. This allows a researcher sitting in the back seat to monitor and control the vehicle systems during testing under different conditions.