Mercedes-Benz Unveils Futuristic F500 at Tokyo Show F500 Research Car Features Hybrid Diesel, Electronic Pedals And More

TOKYO, Oct. 22, 2003 -- At the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz is unveiling the latest in an impressive string of research vehicles that provide dazzling insight into tomorrow's automotive technology. The F500 is a futuristic four-door that showcases more than a dozen novel approaches to safety, comfort, environmentalism and style in Mercedes cars to come.

  

                     The F500 - A Rolling Laboratory

Mercedes-Benz researchers will use the innovative F500 to conduct the first practical tests of such features as electronic pedals, a central roof pillar, two-way doors, infrared laser night vision, a programmable multivision dash display, and an ultrasound driver info system. The research car will also help developers gather more data on its highly promising diesel-hybrid powertrain.

A Short History of the Future

While the "F" stands for the German word "Forschung," which means research, it could just as well stand for "future." Appearing in 1991, the F100 research vehicle served to unveil voice-operated controls, proximity radar, automatic emergency calling, servo door closing and solar ventilation -- all hailed as revolutionary at the time but now found in many of today's Mercedes-Benz cars.

The F200 concept car featured joystick steering, brakes and accelerator in 1996, and a year later the F300 "Life-Jet" resembled a futuristic three-wheeled motorcycle. In 2001, the F400 demonstrated a new active-camber system that enabled the road car to exceed the cornering limits of most race cars.

The F500 Leads the Way

Now the F500 carries the torch -- or in this case, six powerful xenon projector-beam headlights as well as an infrared-laser night-vision system with a special video camera that "translates" the reflected infrared images and displays them on the car's in-dash multivision screen!

Incidentally, the infrared headlights emit very short light pulses which are synchronized with shutters on the video camera, so that the system is not affected by visible light from oncoming vehicles. Researchers plan to add a second camera later for a "stereo" system that will see hazards even better and provide extra warning time.

Hybrid Diesel - The Best of At Least Two Technologies

One of the more significant features of the new F500 is an advanced hybrid-diesel powertrain that promises extremely high fuel mileage and reduces emissions by 20 percent. Electronic load-sharing between a conventional engine and an electric motor allows the F500 to use the advantages of both powerplant designs. For example, the electric motor provides zero-emission operation in most around-town driving, while the internal combustion engine starts automatically when the driver calls for more power.

The partners in this system are a high-efficiency V8 diesel engine from the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and a 50-kilowatt electric motor mounted ahead of its modified automatic transmission. The diesel hybrid system also makes use of regenerative braking that increases fuel mileage by at least five percent. Whenever the driver steps on the brakes, the electric motor becomes a generator that helps recharge the car's under-floor lithium-ion battery.

Electric Steering is Just Over the Horizon

Another system of tomorrow on the F500 is electric steering, which would no longer require an engine-driven hydraulic pump and fluid lines. Instead, the energy for steering assist is provided by the car's 300-volt battery, and a transformer reduces it to 42 volts.

The car's oval steering wheel is reminiscent of the yoke used to steer many aircraft. A precision electronic controller transmits driver input to the wheels, and a mechatronic system of servos and springs replicates good steering feel for the driver. Instead of a steering shaft, column and joints, two redundant electric motors operate the rack-and-pinion steering gear. If one motor ever fails, the steering continues to work with just one motor. To ensure maximum safety and reliability, this type of redundancy is used in several areas of the new steering system.

With no steering column or other mechanical linkage, the steering wheel can slide about six inches up and to the right for easy exit and entrance, and a memory function returns the wheel to the right position when the driver's ready to go.

Two-Way Doors - The Best of Both

The developers of the F500 even came up with a dramatic new idea for the doors, which can open either conventionally, or the rear doors can swing open from the rear with the post between the doors still attached to the rear doors! The electro-mechanical latch for the base of the sill-height door post also doubles as a power closing system when closing the rear doors. Best of all, the center-opening mode provides a doorway that's over six feet across!

Without conventional door posts (or B-pillars) connected to the roof, ensuring good crash safety and structural integrity of the body was a challenge for Mercedes engineers. Their analyses gave them the innovative idea of using a central interior pillar - not unlike a column in the middle of a ballroom. The central pillar makes a sturdy connection between the transmission tunnel in the floor and Y-shaped structural members in the roof. Together with a cross member in the floor and reinforced door sills, the F500 can provide outstanding protection in side collisions and rollovers.

A special curved and tapered shape for the new central pillar ensures good rear and side visibility. In addition, designers routed air conditioning ductwork through the pillar to provide rear passengers with adjustable ceiling vents, and special lighting panels in the pillar provide discreet, effective interior lighting.

Pedals with No Moving Parts

The F500 has nearly five inches of extra leg room simply because the usual mechanical pedals have been replaced by pressure-sensitive electronic panels. Eight sensors in each panel measure "pedal" effort and relay the electronic signal to control units in the engine and SBC brake system. This new technology allows finely controlled acceleration and braking with very short response times, as well as more protection in a severe frontal collision and less noise because of the closed front bulkhead between the engine and passenger compartment. With no moving parts or mechanical linkage, the pedal panels are electrically adjustable fore and aft to suit the driver's position.

Useful Technology At Its Best

Exploring new practical uses of electronics is a recurring theme in the F500. The cockpit instrumentation features a multivision display, and the driver can customize which gauges and readouts show up in the display. On the center console, a touchpad allows the driver to select whether navigation, climate control, audio or telephone system appear on the console display.

Researchers have also developed a new type of ultrasound system that means the F500 driver can hear phone conversations, navigation instructions, or traffic reports without disturbing others in the car. A high-frequency signal is inaudible at first and is converted into an audible signal during the course of its tightly focused journey from 28 piezo speakers in the headliner to the driver's ear!