Flexible, secure, and fully suited to everyday use: The F 800 Style with electric drive and fuel cell technology
The F 800 Style also offers clean driving pleasure in the variant equipped with an electric drive based on fuel cell technology. The vehicle's electric motor develops around 100 kW (136 hp) as well as a strong torque of approximately 290 Nm. The fuel cell generates the traction current by chemically reacting hydrogen with oxygen onboard the vehicle, producing water vapor in the process as the only emission.
F 800 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 F 800 Style features many other technological innovations, such as a new operating and display concept and a human-machine interface (HMI) with a cam touchpad. The display shows many additional functions not found in conventional instrument clusters. The F 800 Style's operation and display concept focuses for the first time primarily on electric driving functions.
HMI with cam touchpad for intuitive and precise operation
The new cam touchpad HMI is an intelligent system expansion for COMAND. 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 F 800 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.
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.
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 F 800 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.
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 that is hit in the rear helps prevent secondary accidents such as those that occur when the car is catapulted 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 knowing that there is sufficient space in front of his or her own vehicle to avoid the rear impact.
Rear pivot-and-slide doors ensure maximum entry comfort
A particularly customer-friendly innovation of the F 800 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 F 800 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 F 800 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 F 800 Style is both a technology package 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.
Front end with distinctive LED headlights
The vehicle's front end features a variation of the radiator grille with the centrally placed brand 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 F 800 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
Precious wood surfaces and lots of light ensure a high level of comfort in the interior of the F 800 Style. Occupants will immediately notice the modern sense of lightness, and functional elements such as the driver area and the door armrests seem to float in space like sculptures. The innovative lightweight-construction seats in the F 800 Style consist of a magnesium shell and a carbon fiber laminate seatback across which a fine yet resistant netting is stretched. The seat shell also features genuine wood veneer. For the wood 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 finishing 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.
Successful transfer from research to series production
Mercedes-Benz has presented 13 research vehicles since the early 1980s. The range of fascinating and pioneering automobiles that was unveiled - beginning with Auto 2000 in 1981 and leading up to today's F 800 Style - offers proof of the consistency and foresight with which Mercedes-Benz engineers address the core issues of research and technology in order to develop innovative solutions for the future. Many systems that were first used in research vehicles and viewed as revolutionary at the time can now be found in Mercedes-Benz production cars, including the DISTRONIC proximity-controlled cruise control, which was first installed in the F 100 in 1991 and made its series production debut in the S-Class in 1998.
photo:Mercdes-Benz
The F 800 Style also offers clean driving pleasure in the variant equipped with an electric drive based on fuel cell technology. The vehicle's electric motor develops around 100 kW (136 hp) as well as a strong torque of approximately 290 Nm. The fuel cell generates the traction current by chemically reacting hydrogen with oxygen onboard the vehicle, producing water vapor in the process as the only emission.
F 800 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 F 800 Style features many other technological innovations, such as a new operating and display concept and a human-machine interface (HMI) with a cam touchpad. The display shows many additional functions not found in conventional instrument clusters. The F 800 Style's operation and display concept focuses for the first time primarily on electric driving functions.
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| Photo: Mercedes-Benz |
HMI with cam touchpad for intuitive and precise operation
The new cam touchpad HMI is an intelligent system expansion for COMAND. 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 F 800 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.
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.
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 F 800 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.
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 that is hit in the rear helps prevent secondary accidents such as those that occur when the car is catapulted 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 knowing that there is sufficient space in front of his or her own vehicle to avoid the rear impact.
Rear pivot-and-slide doors ensure maximum entry comfort
A particularly customer-friendly innovation of the F 800 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 F 800 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 F 800 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 F 800 Style is both a technology package 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.
Front end with distinctive LED headlights
The vehicle's front end features a variation of the radiator grille with the centrally placed brand 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 F 800 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
Precious wood surfaces and lots of light ensure a high level of comfort in the interior of the F 800 Style. Occupants will immediately notice the modern sense of lightness, and functional elements such as the driver area and the door armrests seem to float in space like sculptures. The innovative lightweight-construction seats in the F 800 Style consist of a magnesium shell and a carbon fiber laminate seatback across which a fine yet resistant netting is stretched. The seat shell also features genuine wood veneer. For the wood 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 finishing 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.
Successful transfer from research to series production
Mercedes-Benz has presented 13 research vehicles since the early 1980s. The range of fascinating and pioneering automobiles that was unveiled - beginning with Auto 2000 in 1981 and leading up to today's F 800 Style - offers proof of the consistency and foresight with which Mercedes-Benz engineers address the core issues of research and technology in order to develop innovative solutions for the future. Many systems that were first used in research vehicles and viewed as revolutionary at the time can now be found in Mercedes-Benz production cars, including the DISTRONIC proximity-controlled cruise control, which was first installed in the F 100 in 1991 and made its series production debut in the S-Class in 1998.
photo:Mercdes-Benz
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