Paris Motor Show 2008 Lithium-ion batteries are common place in consumer electrical items but, thus far, automotive engineers have been hampered by various technical issues, not least their susceptibility to explode. Mercedes-Benz seems to have cracked these problems with its first hybrid, the S400 BlueHybrid.
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Scream it 'til you're blue in the face
After years of claiming that blue is the new green — that's a reference to the company's line of BlueTec diesels, which aren't yet available in Australia — Mercedes-Benz has taken a side step and introduced a hybrid to the European, American and Chinese markets, the S400 BlueHybrid. The modified S-Class sedan is not only Mercedes' first hybrid drivetrain but also a world's first implementation of a Lithium-ion battery in a production hybrid vehicle. -
Lithium-ion finally makes it into the automobile
The battery, which makes this whole deal possible, is remarkable in that it's surprisingly compact thanks to Lithium-ion technology. The entire assembly is only slightly larger than a standard 12-volt car battery. -
Millionaires don't make sacrifices
The battery's small size allows it to be located in the engine bay (seen here in the top left corner), where it replaces the conventional starter battery. Current hybrids feature huge nickle-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, which are placed either under the floor or in the centre tunnel, meaning that interior and boot space are sacrificed in the name of economy. -
Stop. Start. Stop. Start.
The modified V6 engine that powers the BlueHybrid has been "hybrid-ised" with the addition of a 15kW/160Nm disc-shaped electric motor, sandwiched between the petrol powerplant and the seven-speed automatic transmission (as can be seen in the bottom breakout). The electric motor boosts the output of the 205kW petrol engine, but most of the efficiency gains are attributed to the way the electric motor works with the petrol engine's start-stop function. -
Sip fuel with your latte
With the electric motor working as a starter, the engine can be shut off at speeds below 15km/h and instantly spun back up when it's time to go back onto petrol power. Working together, the petrol and electric powerplants generate 220kW of power and 385Nm of torque. Mercedes-Benz claims pretty good combined fuel economy of 8.1L/100km; a significant improvement on the 10.2L/100km figure returned by the S350, upon which the S400 BlueHybrid is based. -
Look at me, I'm a hybrid
Inside the cabin, the S400 BlueHybrid gets the drivetrain monitoring displays that seem to be mandatory for hybrids. The entire speedometer has been replaced by an LCD screen, which displays a digitised analog speedo, as well as where the hybrid drivetrain power is coming from; the rest of the gauges (tachometer, fuel, temp, and so on) stick to the traditional needle and dial set-up. -
Diesel or hybrid?
Looking at the power, torque, and fuel economy numbers again, it's fairly obvious that the primary goal of the hybrid system is to boost both performance and economy, as opposed to Toyota's goal of pushing hybrid technology to new levels of efficiency.
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