fastfivecars TRIVIA:The Research Cars of Mercedes-Benz - PART VII

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Stuttgart, Germany, Nov 19, 2007

Auto 2000 � testing of different drive systems

In the late 1970s the Federal German Ministry for Research and Technology launched the �Auto 2000� project in which several carmakers participated. Fuel consumption was not supposed to exceed eleven liters per 100 km (21.3 mpg) for a vehicle with a curb weight of up to 2150 kilograms � a very ambitious target in those days � and the maximum for vehicles weighing 1250 to 1700 kilograms was to be 9.5 liters/100 km (24.7 mpg). In addition, the car was supposed to accommodate four occupants and provide a payload capacity of more than 400 kilograms. Mercedes-Benz met the requirements.


�Auto 2000�, first presented to the public at the 1981 Frankfurt International Motor Show, had an aerodynamically optimized body with a very low Cd (drag coefficient) of 0.28. As many as three different engine concepts were tested in this vehicle. Automatic cylinder cutoff premiered in a V8 gasoline engine displacing 3.8 liters. When little power was required, four of the eight combustion chambers were temporarily shut down � today this is a feature of several large-displacement gasoline engines from Mercedes-Benz. The 3.3-liter diesel engine tested in �Auto 2000� had exemplary accelerating power owing to six cylinders and two turbochargers and excelled with a consumption of 7.5 liters per 100 kilometers (about 31.3 mpg) at a speed of 120 km/h.

With the third drive unit of the �Auto 2000�, the engineers realized an ambitious project: the automotive gas turbine. It had several qualities, including low-pollutant combustion, low weight, compact dimensions, favorable torque characteristics, and the elimination of water cooling. All engines were harnessed to a four-speed automatic transmission. Also, integral seats for the driver and front passenger, with all the belt mounts on the seat itself, were tested in �Auto 2000�, along with integral child restraint systems in the rear and pedestrian-friendly bumpers.







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