Mercedes Plays The Offset Game
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday March 15, 2008
Two months ago, Audi shocked the car world with a diesel supercar concept. Another German is poised to follow, writes Motoring Editor Joshua Dowling.
THE world's car makers are scrambling to find new ways to build high-performance vehicles that use less fuel.As authorities in Europe and the US enact strict new consumption and emissions regulations, the best brains in the automotive business are experimenting with hybrid and diesel technology for supercars.Earlier this year Audi shocked the automotive industry when it unveiled a Ferrari-quick diesel-powered concept car. It was built for the Detroit motor show but the real thing could be in showrooms within two years.It turns out Audi is not the only German brand dabbling with diesel to create a fast car. At last week's Geneva motor show, Volker Mornhinweg, the head of Mercedes-Benz's performance division AMG, revealed that it, too, is studying diesel and hybrid technology more closely."Green issues are one of today's mega-trends and they are impacting the automotive scene more than ever before," he said. "In the face of this, do performance brands still have a future? I believe yes."He said Mercedes had started experimenting "full steam ahead" with hybrid and diesel engines for its fast cars of the future but admitted such engines are still three to five years away."Right now I can't tell you which way we will go because we are the middle of the development but it's possible we could have two solutions," he told Drive.A petrol engine mated to a hybrid system may work better in the US where there is a lot of stop-start driving, he said, but in Europe a diesel may be the preferred option because of the higher freeway speeds there.Mornhinweg insisted his announcement was not a publicity stunt to coincide with the launch of two of the most powerful Mercedes-Benz models ever built. Based on the $300,000-plus SL Roadster, new versions of the 6.2-litre V8 and the twin-turbo 6.0-litre V12 went on sale in the US and Europe this week ahead of their Australian release this year. "We have been looking at the diesel and hybrid options for some time but in the past six months we have had a lot more feedback from customers, dealers and the media than ever before," he told Drive. "We think the world will be a different place in five years' time and we need to be ready."AMG has experimented already with a diesel hot-hatch, although its performance was relatively modest. It made a high-powered turbo diesel version of the C-Class coupe between 2003 and 2004. Sold in Europe only, it was powered by a 3.0-litre five-cylinder engine but sales did not meet expectations and the model was dropped.Mornhinweg said it was "a coincidence" that Mercedes had revealed its plans for a diesel supercar two months after Audi unveiled its concept. "We are all working to meet the same challenges, so it's obvious they are also doing the same as us," he said. Meanwhile, he said, most AMG cars would have a "stop-start" function and regenerative braking by 2010. This is also known in the car business as a "partial hybrid".In such systems, the petrol engine automatically switches off when the car comes to rest and automatically starts again as soon as the accelerator is pressed. A larger battery is required to keep the car's electrics running while it is stopped but the batteries are automatically charged when the car is coasting or when the brakes are applied."Whatever happens, we are not sitting still on this," Mornhinweg said. "We have no choice."
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald