Mercedes S 400 Hybrid

[Gojirra99]

Mercedes S 400 Hybrid Spy Photos

The war on terror seems to be in sync with the war on emissions as car manufacturers become more and more the targets of emissions legislation. Mercedes-Benz is not aiming to be caught with its silver arrows down. WFC has reported several times on BLUETEC technology, how clean it is while not sacrificing power. Now we reveal the spy shots that confirm this upcoming engine derivative.

If you take a close scrutiny on the badging of this S-Class you will take note of the covered S 400 words to the left, while HYBRID takes cover on the right-hand side. The vehicle is undergoing final tests before launch. This year will see BLUETEC find its way into virtually the entire MB range, including ML, R, GL and C.

BLUETEC’s advantages are many. Why, a V6 engine of this nature has the same torque characteristics as a petrol/gasoline V8, while claiming a range of over 1100km/ 700 miles in city driving conditions. You have to be reminded that this is the luxurious S-Class, flagship of Mercedes-Benz. Beautifully the diesel motor comes to its own over longer stretches, unlike certain hybrids of Japanese origin (no names mentioned) whose small petrol motors give up the fight very quickly as soon as your back is turned on the city, thus returning poor performance and fuel economy.

source

[CHI2BFLO]

im interested, but i don't see why they can't just bring a diesel ove here to the states, not sur eif they even make one though, i know the last generation s class did

[Nextourer]

"Beautifully the diesel motor comes to its own over longer stretches, unlike certain hybrids of Japanese origin (no names mentioned) whose small petrol motors give up the fight very quickly as soon as your back is turned on the city, thus returning poor performance and fuel economy."

ooh.. them fighting words. Nothing in the caption talked about the hybrid. He's more interested in Bluetec lol. Bluetec meets Tier 2 Bin 5. That S400 Hybrid can beat it, I'm sure esp. if it's a full hybrid.

[JessePS]

is it so hard to ask for someone to come out with a diesel-hybrid!

[YARIS!]

Mercedes is just trying to catch up to Lexus.

[thetopdog]

They really weren't trying very hard to hide the '400' and 'hybrid' badging

[RXSF]

those 400 and hybrid badges look photoshopped onto a regular S550. lol

[Sash]

Originally Posted by RXSF

those 400 and hybrid badges look photoshopped onto a regular S550. lol

I was thinking the exact same thing . . even the snow on the car looks photoshopped . .

[4TehNguyen]

yea im leaning towards PS, the badges look conveniently uncovered in snow while the back of the car isnt.

[J_RoK]

Yeah, if it supposed to be such a big secret, why even put the hybrid badge on it.. Either it is photoshoped or they want people to see it w/o really showing.

[T0ked]

Man, with all the electrical problems MB has had with regular gasoline vehicles... I will stay away from this thing atleast until 5 model years down the road...

[GFerg]

The folks over at AutoCar have recently spotted the S400 Hybrid testing in Germany, showing that development is well on schedule for a 2009 market launch. This will make Mercedes the first auto maker to bring a hybrid car that uses lithium ion batteries to the roads, putting it a well ahead of Toyota and GM who plan to have a their lithium-ion powered cars on the market in late 2010.

The Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid’s 279 horsepower V6 engine will be mated with a 20 horsepower electric engine that will allow for an average fuel-economy of 27mpg. That puts the S400 hybrid well ahead of the Lexus LS hybrid which gives an estimated fuel-economy of 20mpg in the city and 22 on the highway.

However, performance wise the S400 will take 7.3 seconds to go from 0-60, while the Lexus LS takes 5.5. But let’s not forget that when shopping in this segment, performance figures are not a buyer’s first priority.

The Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid will also feature other fuel-saving technologies such as an automatic star-stop system, similar to the BMW Efficient Dynamics program.

You can expect to see the S400 on the market in mid-2009. The Mercedes ML450 hybrid will arrive first in early 2009.

http://www.egmcartech.com/2008/02/06...xus-ls-hybrid/

[newr]

umm......boring

[RX_330]

Gas or diesel? I forget.

[97-SC300]

Not feeling it. 7.3 sec. 0-60??? pathetic.