As we brought to you yesterday, Mercedes will unveil the new F800 Style Concept during this year’s Geneva Motor Show, now more details on this concept’s amazing features is available, and you can learn more about it after the jump.. This car is more important than all of the other F-models because it is much closer to the reality and most of its onboard technologies can be fitted to the production cars. The F800’s design also hints at the design of a new model currently known as the baby CLS!
Mercedes F800 features two very modern powertrains: There’s a plug-in Hybrid which consists of a 300 hp V6 petrol engine and a 109 hp electric motor. So with a combined power of 409 hp it can accelerate form zero to 100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds and reach a limited top speed of 250 km/h. In pure electric mode it can go as fast as 120 km/h. This system is actually production ready and you might see it in a production Mercedes very soon. The second powertrain is a fuel cell one which comes with a 136 hp – 214 lb-ft of torque electric motor, which at this stage is too experimental!
Apart from its remarkable green features like the powertrains or the lightweight and recyclable materials, the F800 Style also packs a great number of innovative safety and convenience features, which will be used in the upcoming models and will be copied by other manufacturers! What we particularly found very interesting is the new generation of Mercedes COMMAND system which now comes with a camera and a touchpad! Here’s more details on this and other high-tech stuff of the car:
F800 Style with further innovations for more comfort and safety
In addition to a multi-drive platform that is unparalleled for large sedans and the combination of different alternative drive technologies, the F800 Style features many other technological innovations, such as a new multi-function display concept and a human-machine interface (HMI) with a cam touchpad. The display shows many additional functions not typically found in conventional instrument clusters. The F800 Style’s display concept focuses for the first time primarily on electric driving functions.
HMI with cam (camera) touchpad for intuitive and precise operation
The new cam touchpad HMI is an intelligent expansion of the COMAND system. For many years now, Mercedes-Benz has been forging ahead with the development of innovative operating and display systems. A particularly user-friendly innovation is being presented in the F800 Style. The HMI unit here consists of a touchpad on the center console and a camera that records video images of the user’s hand as it works the pad. The live image of the hand is presented in transparent form in the central display above the console. The user sees the contours of his or her fingers glide across the image without covering anything, thus ensuring that all of the functions of the currently used menu remain visible so that they can be easily operated by applying slight pressure to the touchpad. Pressing the display with one’s fingers generates a feeling similar to that of touching laptop keys so that users know when they are carrying out specific actions.
The cam touchpad HMI unit recognizes finger movements on the pad surface such as wiping, pushing, turning, and zooming, thus enabling intuitive regulation of the climate control system, telephone, stereo and navigation systems, and Internet access. The unit enhances active safety as well, because it is extremely easy and convenient to use and therefore does not distract the driver as much from the actual task of driving. And unlike conventional touchscreens, the HMI cam touchpad does not get smudged with fingerprints.
Conventional touchpad units generally depict hand or finger positions only by a small point in the display. Their lack of precision makes it very risky to enter information while driving, because doing so diverts the motorist’s attention too much from the road. By contrast, the HMI with cam touchpad can be easily and safely operated even while driving. Test subjects have confirmed that the HMI with cam touchpad is extremely easy and safe to use, particularly as a result of the transparent depiction of the hand.
Range on Map: Graphic range depiction during electric operation
Another very user-friendly innovation created by the Mercedes engineers is the “Range on Map” function, which shows the remaining possible travel radius during electric vehicle operation as a 360° depiction on a map. Should municipalities only permit purely electric automobile traffic in the future, the driver can determine whether the electric range of his or her vehicle is sufficient for the journey into and out of the urban area by means of the Range on Map function. The system provides this function by combining information on the current battery charge level with data from the navigation system.
In the new operating and display concept, Mercedes-Benz has created a solution that provides an unparalleled amount of information in a system of exemplary clarity. The engineers have thus achieved the goal of successfully developing a comprehensive yet easy-to-operate information and control system for future automobiles equipped with electric or partially electric drive systems. A further-developed version of the system can also display recharging stations.
Mirror display is easy on the eyes
The mirror display of the innovative cam touchpad HMI eliminates the differences between close proximity visibility and visibility over longer distances, thus contributing to the driver’s physiological safety in a manner typical of Mercedes. The system displays driving and vehicle information via a mirror in the instrument cluster so that they appear to be farther away. The distance the eye looks into is thus extended, which means less switching between near and far focus – and therefore less fatigue – for the eyes.
New DISTRONIC PLUS Traffic Jam Assistant further reduces the stress of driving
Back in 2006, Mercedes-Benz introduced DISTRONIC PLUS, the world’s first proximity and speed control system that operates even when the car is standing still. The system substantially reduces the stress for drivers in dense traffic, as it regulates the distance from the vehicle in front even at very low speeds all the way down to a standstill. With its new DISTRONIC PLUS Traffic Jam Assistant feature in the F800 Style, Mercedes-Benz has also become the world’s first automaker to implement a system that is also capable of automatically following the vehicle in front of it into curves. The system recognizes the difference between driving along curving roads and turning, which means it does not “blindly” follow the vehicle up in front – for example, when it changes lanes in order to exit the highway.
The result is that at speeds of up to about 25 mph, the Traffic Jam Assistant function takes care of both longitudinal and transverse movements so that drivers do not have to steer themselves. The driver can just sit back and relax – with hands on the steering wheel. When the 25 mph mark is exceeded, the steering torque that keeps the vehicle in its lane is gradually reduced to a point at which the Traffic Jam Assistant smoothly disengages. Drivers can, of course, override the system at any time. Sensitive sensors notice active steering movements, thus automatically deactivating the system’s lateral control function.
“The DISTRONIC PLUS Traffic Jam Assistant is the logical continuation of the Mercedes-Benz assistance and safety philosophy. With it, we are setting another milestone on the path toward creating innovative systems, with which we will further enhance the high driving comfort that is a hallmark of Mercedes,” says Prof. Bharat Balasubramanian, Head of Product Innovations & Process Technologies at Group Research and Advanced Engineering. The required data is generated by radar distance sensors that are supplemented by a stereo camera.
PRE-SAFE 360° improves safety in rear-end collisions
While the Traffic Jam Assistant heightens comfort and active safety, the innovative protective system known as PRE-SAFE 360° further improves passive safety. PRE-SAFE 360° is based on the proactive occupant protection system PRE SAFE® 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 key advantage of this system is that braking a stationary vehicle helps prevent secondary accidents such as those that occur when the car is pushed 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 gas pedal, should they recognize that there is sufficient space in front of their vehicle to avoid the rear impact.
Rear pivot-and-slide doors ensure maximum entry comfort
A particularly customer-friendly innovation of the F800 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 F800 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.
Reinterpretation of the typical Mercedes-Benz design idiom
The F800 Style is both a technology platform 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 emphasizes the sculptural character of the F800 Style,” says 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.”
Front end with distinctive LED headlights
The vehicle’s front end features a variation of the radiator grille with the centrally placed 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 emphasize 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 F800 Style’s taillights 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.
Wood and light create a cozy interior
Luxurious wood surfaces and lots of light ensure a high level of comfort in the interior of the F800 Style. Occupants will immediately notice the modern sense of lightness, and functional elements like the driver area and the door armrests seem to float in space like sculptures. The innovative lightweight-construction seats in the F800 Style consist of a magnesium shell and a carbon fiber laminate shell backed with a fine yet resistant netting. The seat shell also features genuine wood veneer. For the veneer process, Mercedes-Benz engineers used a 3D surface coating procedure designed especially for the veneering of three-dimensional surfaces. This same procedure was used to create the wood finish in the center console, on the doors, and in the driver area. These wood finishing pieces are molded as 3D laminated components and are augmented by an aluminum core, which ensures that the components meet the high crash safety standards that are a hallmark of Mercedes.
