New angle on Mercedes

NewangleonMercedes-Benz’S-ClassCoupeThenewMercedes-BenzS-ClassCoupe'stechnologyincludesanActiveCurveTiltingFunctiontoimprovehandlingandreducelateralacceleration'seffectonoccupants.Amongtheveritableplethoraoftechnologiesencasedwithinthenew4.7-Lbi-turbo Mercedes-Benz S-ClassCoupe(replacingtheCL)atthe2014GenevaMotorShow,onestoodoutassomethingveryspecial.CalledActiveCurveTiltingFunction(ACTF),itisarguablytheautomotiveequivalentofahigh-speed“kneedown”motorcyclistleaningamachineintoabend.Itstiltaction,orchestratedbythecar’sMagicBodyControl(MBC)system,waspresagedin2001byMercedes’F400Carvingconcept,thendrivenbythisAutomotiveEngineering editortoexperiencewheelsontheoutsideofacornertiltingsteeplytoenhancestabilityandreduceriskofskidding—amind-focusingexperience.Prof.Dr.ThomasWeber, Daimler BoardMemberresponsibleforcorporateresearchandMercedes’development,saidofthesystem:“TheS-ClassCoupeleansintobends(between30km/hand180km/h)muchlikeamotorcyclist.Thisreduceslateralaccelerationactingontheoccupants.ItdemonstratesthepossibilitiesofMercedes-BenzIntelligentDrive.”ThesystemusestheMBC’sabilitytomonitortheroad15m(49ft)aheadviaastereocamera(previouslydescribedby AutomotiveEngineering athttp://articles.sae.org/12330/),butaddsatransversalaccelerationsensorand producesrequiredleanviaadjustingthepressurewithinhydraulicstrutsaspartofthesuspensionsystem.Theeffect variesaccordingtotheradiusofthecurveandspeedofthecar,uptoamaximum2.5degree.TheCarving’swheelstiltedthrough20degree,butsuchanextremewasdeemedunnecessaryandunsuitable,nottomentionverydifficulttoaccommodatewithinthewheelarchesoftheS-ClassCoupe—andalarmingforotherroadusers!ACTF,claimedasa“worldfirst”forseriesproductioncars,isswitchablewithinthreedrivemodesavailableviathecar’sActiveBodyControl.ThenewS-ClassCoupealsoincorporatestechnologiesfromitssedansibling,withaheadupdisplay(HUD)providingspeed,speedlimit,navigation,anddrivingassistancemessages—andatouch-padforthedriver.Asanoption,Mercedesintroduceswhatitcalls“expressiveheadlamps,”eachwith47 Swarovski crystalstoprovideadistinctivevisualsignature.Theycomprise17formingdaytimerunninglightsand30fortheturnindicators.FullLEDheadlightsarefitted.Partofeachrear-lightLEDclusterisintherearfenderandtrunklid.Apanoramicroofhasasurfaceareaof1.32m²(14.2ft²)withMagicSkyControltoswitchtransparencyfromlighttodark.Withamoreaggressivestancethanmanyprevioustop-of-the-rangeMercedescoupesandusingconcaveandconvexsurfacing,thenewS-Classis5027mm(197.9in)longand1411mm(55.6in)tallona2945-mm(115.9-in)wheelbase.4Maticall-wheeldriveisanoption.Interiordetailsincludeairbagrepositioningtoalowerthannormalleveltofacilitateadashboardwithawrap-aroundtoplayerandalow“floating”section.A touchpadisadistinctivepartoftheinterior.Mercedesexplainsthat,asonasmartphone,itallowsallthehead-unitfunctionstobeoperatedusingfingergestures.Italsoallowsuseofletters,numbers,andspecialcharacterstobeenteredinhandwritingforminanyofthehead-unit’slanguages.Controlsforthemultimediasystemarepositionedinasemi-circle aroundit.TheHUDincorporatesaspecularopticssystemandfullcolordisplaymodulewith480x240pixelresolutionoperatingwithhigh-powerLEDstoprojectavirtualimage—about21x7cm(8.3x2.8in)—intothedriver’sfieldofview.Itisdesignedtoappeartofloatsome2m(6.6ft)aheadandabovethehood.Displaybrightnessisadjustedautomaticallyviaalightsensor.ThenewS-ClassCoupe’s328-kW(440-hp),700-N·m(516-lb·ft)launchenginewillbefollowedbyfurtherchoicesthatarelikelytoincludeaV12.