The doors slide back close to the vehicle’s body, making it easy for occupants to get into and out in tight parking spaces. Photo/COURTESY
The design team at Mercedes have suddenly been inspired to produce something pleasing to the eye.
I was so disappointed by the E-class, however, the F800 has restored my faith in the brand.
After years of what seemed like shift in design thinking across the motor industry with some good and some very bad outcomes, Mercedes has produced a stunning new design language with what looks like flame surfacing and a pointed snout that signals a sporty for new direction the marque.
The vehicle’s front end features a variation of the radiator grille with the centrally placed brand star that is typical of Mercedes sports cars.
The curved radiator grille bars softly flow around the tube holding the Mercedes-Benz brand star.
Along with the wide radiator grille and the generously curved air intake openings, the model’s unique bright LED headlights emphasises the dynamic nature of the research vehicle.
The headlights are divided into individual segments for daytime running lights, turn signal indicators, and primary headlights.
The F 800 Style’s tail lights are also equipped with state-of-the-art LED units that enable an exciting interplay of indirect illumination and direct beams.
The result is an attractive, unmistakable, and memorable visual effect.
On the inside, Mercedes engineers and designers used lots of wood and light to create comfort.
You will feel light headed in this cabin as they have created a sense of lightness with floating armrests.
The seats too have lightweight construction. Mercedes is very clear about what it expects to achieve with this new design language.
With the F 800 Style, it is underscoring their drive to bring together responsibility for the environment with practical customer benefits and automotive fascination.
The new research vehicle combines this leadership role in innovative drive concepts with classic Mercedes strengths in the fields of design, safety, comfort and superb performance.”
The forward thinking that Mercedes is known for is epitomised in this concept and it is as green as ever.
When developing this vehicle, the engineers paid particular attention to the further development of all-electric driving in urban traffic.
Its drive unit consists of a V6 petrol engine with next-generation direct injection developing around 220 kW (300 hp) and a hybrid module with around 80 kW (109 hp) fully integrated into the casing of the 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission, as in the Mercedes-Benz S 400 HYBRID launched in mid-2009.
Its power reserves facilitate a top speed in electric mode of 120 km/h.
This means that the F 800 Style can also handle out-of-town traffic conditions.
The overall output of the hybrid drive stands at around 300 kW (409 hp).
A particularly customer-friendly innovation of the F 800 Style is its rear doors.
Whereas the front doors are attached to the A-pillar in a conventional manner and open wide toward the front, the rear doors slide backward when opened, as they are suspended from an interior swivel arm.
Because the doors slide back close to the vehicle body, occupants find it much easier to get into and out of the automobile in tight parking spaces.
The F800 Style also has no B-pillar, making the entire space between the A and C-pillars completely accessible when the doors are opened.
Despite the lack of a B-pillar, the F 800 Style boasts a bodyshell that is both extremely robust and lightweight, and that meets the stringent demands for crash safety that are a hallmark of the Mercedes brand.
The F 800 Style is both a technology package and a showcar.
This research vehicle was created through close cooperation between technical research and advanced engineering departments and the advanced design studios in Sindelfingen, Germany and Como, Italy.
Its exterior appearance is marked by a long wheelbase, short body overhangs, and a sensually flowing roof line.
“The exciting coupe-like roof line, and in general the vehicle’s balanced proportions, lend it a stylish sporty look that reinterprets the Mercedes-Benz design idiom and emphasises the sculptural character of the F 800 Style,” said Mercedes-Benz head of design Prof. Gorden Wagener. “The result is a harmonious blend of innovative form and function, which conveys a sense of great styling and authority.”
Safety is a key feature of all Mercedes vehicles and this comes strongly in the F800.
It has a new feature called Traffic Jam Assistant which heightens comfort and active safety.
The innovative protective system known as PRE-SAFE 360° further improves passive safety.
This system is based on the proactive occupant protection system PRESAFE® developed by Mercedes-Benz.
Unlike the previous system, PRE-SAFE 360° also monitors the area behind the vehicle.
As a result, the system engages the brakes around 600 milliseconds before an anticipated rear-end collision occurs.
The advantage of this system is that braking a stationary vehicle that is hit in the rear helps prevent secondary accidents such as those that occur when the car is catapulted uncontrolled into an intersection or a pedestrian crossing.
It goes without saying that PRE-SAFE 360° also allows the driver to take control at any time.
For example, the brake is immediately released if the driver hits the acceleration pedal knowing that there is sufficient space in front of his or her own vehicle to avoid the rear impact.
An exciting future awaits wabenzes in Kenya.
-www.businessdailyafrica.com
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