Spring 2012 sees the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter adopt a number of product enhancements which underline its ambition to lead the large van segment. The tough, practical testing focuses on the key customer requirements of safety, economy and comfort.
The Sprinter is the first van in the world to be available with a seven-speed torque-converter automatic transmission. Fuel consumption is reduced even further by the BlueEFFICIENCY package and a higher axle ratio. What's more, the standard-fit ESP® has additional and enhanced functionality. Like all new components of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, these new features have to demonstrate their ability to withstand extreme testing in unforgiving conditions near the Arctic Circle.
At temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius – and even lower – the new features have to prove that they meet the high quality standards of Mercedes-Benz. Testing begins with the cold-start performance of the engine equipped with the BlueEFFICIENCY package. Then it's the turn of the new, seven-speed automatic transmission to demonstrate that it can still deliver silky smooth gearchanges when the ambient temperature is as low as that in a freezer. The same goes for the control systems. Their sensors have to be tuned with absolute precision to ensure that the systems are always ready to intervene with corrective measures – regardless of how hostile the operating conditions may be.
ADAPTIVE ESP® as standard: functionality extended once again
Mercedes-Benz has raised the already exemplary safety standard of the Sprinter to an even higher level. Since the start of the year, the van has been equipped with a new generation of ADAPTIVE ESP® with additional functions. The new features include:
- Brake Disk Wipe: in the wet, this system builds up a low level of brake pressure on a cyclical basis. This wipes the film of water off the brake disc so that the full braking power is available straight away if it should be required.
- Electronic Brake Prefill: if the driver releases the pressure on the accelerator suddenly, this is interpreted as the first step of an imminent braking process. The system reacts to this by gently applying the brake pads to the brake disc.
This means that the air gap between the two friction partners is effectively already reduced to zero by the time the driver presses the brake pedal. In this way, the reaction time for any braking which may be required is reduced.
In order to ensure that the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter meets the high standards demanded by its customers, tough quality checks are also carried out during the winter testing in Arjeplog. These concern all the vehicle systems – without exception. So along with the new ADAPTIVE ESP®, the new seven-speed torque-converter automatic transmission has to prove its ability to cope with snow and ice for the umpteenth time. The verdict of the test engineers is unequivocal: top quality performance, even under extreme winter conditions.
In a world first, the new 7G-Tronic transmission will be available as an option for a van with effect from this spring. This seven-speed automatic transmission, which has a fully electronic control system and has already proved itself in many Mercedes-Benz passenger car models, has been adapted to meet the specific requirements of use in a van.
The great advantage of the new transmission with its seven gears is that it combines a wide spread between the lowest and the highest gears with closely spaced ratios. In practice, this means that the Sprinter has a low first-gear ratio which ensures that it can pull away dynamically. At high speeds, however, it is able to run at low revs and so benefit from fuel savings, low emissions and quiet operation. At the same time, the Sprinter can call on the appropriate gear for every driving situation with only small shifts in engine speed between the different ratios.
The favourable fuel consumption achieved with the BlueEFFICIENCY package is particularly impressive: for Sprinter models with a permissible gross vehicle weight of 3.5 tonnes and a four-cylinder diesel engine, the combined consumption (depending on the model variant and axle ratio) is as low as 7.6 litres per 100 km.
BlueEFFICIENCY package reduces fuel consumption and emissions
Every Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is, of course, designed to use fuel sparingly. All the diesel models have a battery management system while both the engine and transmission are designed for low fuel consumption and low emissions.
The already favourable fuel consumption of the Sprinter equipped with a van manual transmission can be reduced by about another 0.5 litres per 100 km with the optional BlueEFFICIENCY package. This fuel saving also results in a reduction in CO2 emissions.
The BlueEFFICIENCY package comprises the ECO start/stop function, tyres with reduced rolling resistance, the ECO power steering pump, alternator management and an electrically controlled fuel pump. As a result, the combined fuel consumption for a typical Sprinter with a four-cylinder CDI diesel engine, a van manual transmission, a closed body and a permissible gross vehicle weight of 3.5 t is reduced to as little as 7.4 litres per 100 km.
Exemplary: fuel consumption of only 7 litres per 100 km with new, high axle ratio and van manual transmission
Another measure to reduce fuel consumption and emissions is a new, higher, rear-axle ratio for the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. This is available as special equipment for various vehicle variants. The ratio of i=3.692 reduces the engine speed by about six percent and so results in an outstanding combined fuel consumption figure as low as 7 litres per 100 km with correspondingly lower CO2 emissions.
Credits: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes had a productive session at Barcelona in the last round of tests before the start of the 2012 season. As all the other competitors, the Brits focused on doing the essential preparations and getting the car ready for the first real race of this year. Both the team staff and drivers were happy with the general performance of the MP4-27 and concluded the engineers managed to find the right balance as to offer a competitive package that can be victorious right from the first grand prix. Check out the full action report of the last three days spent on the Barcelona track after the break!
DAY 2
- Driver: Lewis Hamilton
- Location: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
- Track Length: 4.655km
- Weather: Foggy and overcast at dawn, clearing by mid-morning to remain warm and sunny for the rest of the day. Maximum ambient temperature 18.9°C, maximum track temperature 37.2°C
- Laps completed: 65
- Kilometres Covered: 303km
- Best Lap Time: 1m24.111s at 12:50
Programme
Second day of testing at Barcelona, and Lewis jumped into the car today. When early-morning fog kept the circuit closed, the team continued rehearsing full-race-crew pitstops in the pitlane.
However, the majority of the day was spent making lengthy adjustments to set-up in order to more fully understand the effects of change on the car. This meant the day was centred more around development, and less on headline-making laptimes.
The day also saw the expected conclusion of our evaluation of our launch-spec aero package. For Saturday and Sunday, we plan to introduce a suite of new components for evaluation ahead of the opening race in Australia in a fortnight’s time.
At the end of the day, a satisfied Lewis said:
“Today was all about testing set-up. It was a good day: we learned quite a lot and improved a few things. We didn’t get a lot of mileage, as we had a lot of downtime inbetween changes.
“Our car feels better set-up wise, we still haven’t added the new aero package – so I think we’ll get a better picture of what the car will be like in Australia over the next two days. But I definitely feel like we have a competitive car.
“This year’s winter testing has been way better than last year. I’ve not had any problems, we’ve ironed out a lot of issues and I feel very comfortable. I’m fit and ready for Melbourne.”
DAY 3
- Driver: Jenson Button
- Location: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
- Track Length: 4.655km
- Weather: Warm and sunny in the morning, before growing increasingly overcast. A brief rainshower hit the track at 4pm. Maximum ambient temperature 15.9°C, maximum track temperature 32.2°C
- Laps completed: 44
- Kilometres Covered: 204km
- Best Lap Time: 1m22.103s at 14:58
Programme
Today was Jenson’s last day in the car before Melbourne and, appropriately, he spent it evaluating the new race package we intend to race in Australia later this month.
The morning was spent successfully installing and understanding the suite of new aero components, but this was interrupted by a hydraulics issue which kept the car in the garage until after the lunch break.
The day was further disturbed by a mid-afternoon rainshower – so today’s proposed set-up, tyre-comparison work and a long run were postponed, and will be conducted by Lewis tomorrow.
Jenson said:
“When you get new parts, you want to go out and put lots of laps on it in order to compare it to what you had previously – but we weren’t able to do that today. We had a hydraulics issue in the morning, which meant we didn’t do much running.
“So it wasn’t the easiest morning – and then we didn’t do much running in the afternoon either because of the rain. We put a couple of good laps in but didn’t get any set-up work done – because of the rain.
“It was nice to drive the new package, and I have a good feeling about it, but I need to work with it for a bit longer to find the right balance for it.
“Hopefully, Lewis will put some more laps on the car tomorrow.”
DAY 4
- Driver: Lewis Hamilton
- Location: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
- Track Length: 4.655km
- Weather: Bright and sunny in the morning, eventually clouding over before an end-of-day shower just before the chequered flag.
- Laps completed: 115
- Kilometres Covered: 535km
- Best Lap Time: 1m22.430s
Programme
Final day of 2012 pre-season testing and Lewis resumed testing duties of the team’s proposed race-one aerodynamic upgrade.
The aim of today’s programme was to continue the analysis started yesterday by Jenson – and the team successfully spent the morning running through a suite of set-up and balance changes and a number of tyre comparison runs.
Into the afternoon, the aim was to put further miles on the new aero package over a simulated race distance. The programme was slightly knocked-back by a small hydraulic leak at the end of the day, but the leak fortuitously coincided with a late-afternoon rainshower, meaning the team lost little significant running.
At the end of the day, Lewis and the engineers declared themselves happy with progress, particularly over the course of a long-run.
Now, our focus turns to Melbourne…
Official photos and report courtesy of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
The last pre-season tests ahead of the 2012 show brought the F1 cars to Barcelona, for the second time in a row. MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS team concentrated on evaluating crucial components and tyre set-up, accumulating sufficient mileage and trying out various race scenarios, in order to get a better picture of the new F1 W03 single-seater in advance of the Australian Grand Prix, happening at Melbourne in a fortnight (16-18 March 2012). Check out the full action report of the last three days spent at Circuit de Catalunya after the break!
DAY 2
Michael Schumacher was at the wheel of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS F1 W03 today for the second day of the test.
- Michael completed 19 laps this morning, with a late start and red flags, including two caused by the team, interrupting running
- The afternoon session proved more productive as Michael and the team worked through a series of set-up evaluations
- Michael’s lap tally by the end of running, which was extended by 30 minutes due to the morning fog, was 79 laps, equal to 368 km
Nico will be back in the F1 W03 tomorrow for the third day of the test, with Michael concluding the programme on Sunday.
Michael Schumacher
“The start of our day was something of a struggle this morning, partly down to me as well, and it seemed as if the afternoon might start that way also. Fortunately the session turned out well, and we achieved all of the test items that we wanted. So in the end, it was a positive day, but we will only see later how we stand compared to the other teams.”
TIMES
DAY 3
Nico Rosberg was back in the F1 W03 today for his second day, and the team’s third day, of testing this week in Barcelona.
- Nico completed a series of medium length runs in the morning session to evaluate different set-up and aerodynamic options
- He continued to achieve good mileage over longer runs this afternoon before a rain shower briefly interrupted proceedings
- This gave Nico the chance to drive the F1 W03 on intermediate tyres for the first time during the final hour of the day
- Nico completed 129 laps today, equivalent to 600 km, taking his pre-season mileage in the F1 W03 to over 2500 km
Michael Schumacher will drive for the fourth and final day of the test tomorrow to conclude our pre-season testing programme.
Nico Rosberg
“I’m happy with my pre-season testing programme, and I believe that we have made a step forward from last year. I have been able to achieve a lot of mileage which shows that the car is very reliable, and as a driver, I feel ready now for the first race in Melbourne. Unbelievably in the last hours of my test today, it was raining! So I have also been able to experience the car in the wet. Now it’s exciting to go to the first race and see where we are compared to the others. Finally all the talking stops and the racing starts when we get to Australia.”
TIMES
DAY 4
Michael Schumacher concluded the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS team’s pre-season testing programme today in Barcelona.
- Over 56 laps in the morning session, Michael worked through a series of set-up runs on the hard and soft compound Pirelli tyres
- He continued a similar programme this afternoon with further set-up and aerodynamic evaluations
- Michael completed 100 laps and 466 km today, his final day in the F1 W03 before the 2012 season begins
Since its debut, the F1 W03 has completed 4450 km of pre-season mileage over eight group test days, one private test day and two 100 km filming days. The team will now return to its factories in Brackley and Brixworth to complete the final preparations before departing for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Michael Schumacher
“After four intensive days of testing this week, we are soon heading to Australia and it’s really time for the season to start. We are very happy with all the work we have been able to achieve, covering a lot of kilometres and learning a lot about our car which gives us a good basis to work from. The car felt good from the very beginning, and we have managed to improve it over the test days, so I think we can say that we are very well prepared. Again, what this means compared to our competitors is something I want only to go into after some races, as we all know that testing does not show everything. What we can say though is that the field is tighter than it has been, so we are looking forward to an exciting season.”
Ross Brawn
“As we reach the end of an intense two weeks of testing with our new car, the F1 W03, firstly I would like to thank all of our team members at Brackley and Brixworth for their hard work and dedication. It has been a demanding period for everyone involved, and I am very pleased with the work that we have achieved and the progress that we have seen. Over nine days of testing, Michael and Nico have put 4250 km on the F1 W03, and we have accomplished the majority of items on a very demanding test programme. There is a lot of hard work ahead back at base next week to analyse the results, however I am confident that we are in good shape for the start of the season. As usual, it would be unwise to make any judgement on our competitiveness at this stage, and I will certainly refrain from doing so! It is going to be fascinating to see how it all turns out and I’m sure that this is going to be a very exciting season for the teams and fans. We are all looking forward to the action getting underway in Australia in a fortnight.”
TIMES
Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
- Driver: Jenson Button
- Location: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
- Track Length: 4.655km
- Weather: Warm and sunny. Maximum ambient temperature 19.4°C
- Laps completed: 64
- Kilometres Covered: 298km
- Best Lap Time: 1m23.510s at 11:16
Programme
First day of the final pre-season test and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team continues preparations ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, running Jenson (Thur/Sat) and Lewis (Fri/Sun) at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.
The team is planning on gradually introducing a suite of new components to the MP4-27 during this test. Focus for the opening two days will primarily be on pitstop practice with a full race crew and further race prove-outs – including some more time-consuming set-up work. The back-end of the test will be spent focusing on analysing and learning about our race-one aerodynamic package.
Team manager David Redding said:
“Having completed more than 2000km at Barcelona last week, today was always going to be more about quality than quantity. We wanted to drill a little deeper into our understanding of the car, and that meant undertaking some bigger set-up changes that wouldn’t ordinarily be available to us during a grand prix weekend.
“We made good progress and we’re satisfied with today’s results.”
Official photo and report courtesy of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Nico Rosberg began the final pre-season test for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS today at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
- Nico completed 128 laps, equivalent to 596 km, over the course of a very productive first day of running
- The team focused on set-up evaluations with the F1 W03 this morning, with Nico covering 56 laps over 10 runs
- Nico’s afternoon programme saw longer runs with further set-up work aimed at optimising race performance
Michael Schumacher will take over the car tomorrow, with Nico driving on Saturday, and Michael concluding the test on Sunday.
Nico Rosberg
“I´m very happy with the first day of our test programme today. We were able to complete a lot of laps and tried a few different things which worked out well. Some of the evaluations were really interesting which makes the day good fun for me, and it’s nice to find out what the car can do. We had no reliability problems which is good as it’s important to get mileage on the car. We are making progress, but we don´t know really where we are compared to the others. It will be interesting to find out at the first race.”
TIMES
Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Nico Rosberg concluded this week’s test at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona for the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS team today.
- Nico began the day with in and out laps for pit stop practice over a total of 17 laps
- Milder temperatures allowed his race simulation to begin at 10:48, although this was interrupted halfway through by a red flag
- The race simulation was conducted using hard compound Pirelli tyres; the team primarily ran soft tyres during the afternoon
- Work this afternoon focused on set-up comparisons over runs of around 10 timed laps
Nico completed 139 laps in the F1 W03 today, equivalent to 647 km. By way of comparison, this approached Nico’s total of 161 laps over the entire Spanish Grand Prix weekend in 2011. The F1 W03 has now covered 2420 km in winter testing, over five official test days and two 100 km filming days. This equates to a daily average of 444 km during the test days, with Michael and Nico running for over 100 laps on Thursday and Friday respectively.
The next test for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS will take place at the Circuit de Catalunya from Thursday 1 to Sunday 4 March.
Nico Rosberg
“After our first full test with the F1 W03, I can see that we are making good steps forward. Our test programme went well this week and we have made evident progress each day. In terms of reliability, the car is performing pretty much as we expected which is really important as we can concentrate on improving the performance. Of course it’s difficult at this stage to predict how we will fare in race conditions against our competitors but overall I’m pleased with the start that we have made. I’m looking forward to the final test next week before the season begins, and continuing our learning with our F1 W03.”
Ross Brawn
“We have had a very positive first week of running with the F1 W03. After five full test days, we have completed over 2000 km, Nico and Michael have done consistent mileage and reliability has been ok, aside from a couple of problems earlier in the week. Both drivers have already completed full race simulations, and this really is a tribute to all the hard work that was done back at base in Brackley and Brixworth to ensure we hit the ground running this year with the new car - as well as to the efforts of our day and night shifts at the track in Barcelona. This basis means that the drivers and engineers have been able to work well with the car rather than chasing problems, and next week we hope to focus even more on getting performance out of our current package. Overall, we are in a reasonable position, but I don’t for a moment believe we have achieved our objectives yet. It may be something of a winter testing cliché, but there is still an awful lot to be done, and it´s far too early to make any kind of judgement about our competitiveness.”
TIMES
Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Michael Schumacher was back in the car today for the penultimate day of this week’s test for the F1 W03 car.
- Michael completed 127 laps and 592 km, taking the team´s total mileage for the F1 W03 to 1756 km
- Michael ran soft and hard compound Pirelli tyres throughout the day as he worked through the planned test programme
- A first full race simulation for the F1 W03 was completed during the afternoon session, including live pit stops
Nico Rosberg will conclude the team’s test programme for this week tomorrow.
Michael Schumacher
“I’m very happy with the race simulation that we ran this afternoon. It confirmed what we have seen from the first tests with our new car, and that we don’t seem to have any big issues with reliability. The small things from the last two days I would rate as typical testing issues. So from my side, I am happy with our first full testing session, and we have definitely improved our game which is what we wanted to achieve. To what extent, we can only see later, but I am finishing with a positive feeling.”
TIMES
Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Nico Rosberg was at the wheel of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS F1 W03 car at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona today.
- A productive morning session allowed the team to make good progress through the planned technical programme
- A transmission oil leak was found early in the afternoon which could not be resolved in time to complete any productive running
- Nico completed 82 laps today, adding a further 382 km to take the F1 W03’s total mileage to 1164 km
Michael will be back in the car tomorrow before Nico finishes the test programme on Friday.
Nico Rosberg
“It was good to get into proper testing today. Early in the morning, it was a bit too cold on the track to collect some decent information, however later we were able to get into our planned work. In the afternoon session, unfortunately we had a transmission oil leak which meant that I wasn’t able to complete any further running. That doesn’t affect my positive feelings about our test programme, and things like that can happen in the early stages of running a new car. Now I am looking forward to driving again on Friday.”
TIMES
Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
The advent of this less camouflaged test vehicles, pictured above, signals the entrance into the last stage of development for the future generation S-Class (W 222). Around six months are left from this moment until the official reveal scheduled for the Paris motor show at the beginning of October. We shall probably see the finished product earlier, around one month ahead the world debut, when Mercedes-Benz usually releases some initial images and details to preview a new model.
While we are sure the new S-Class will definitely boast state-of-the-art technologies and system, we are worried about what we see in these latest spy shots. After shaving off the camouflage, the prototype reveals more of the exterior design. And, somehow, we do not feel the car. Afraid or not, we could be unpleasantly surprised when the S-Class is unveiled. All in all, the W 222 generation seems looks to be a shy evolution of the current W 221 model, as the new elements seem to have been simply applied to the old body.
Even though it appears to have grown in length, the style is basically the same, if one observes the greenhouse or the general aspect of the rear end. At least, the criticized bulged wheel arches are gone, but we can't help wondering about what could lie under the camouflage applied to the sides of the car. Crazy design experiments work for inferior models, but not for an executive limousine such as the S-Class, so it would better have a clean, elegant profile.
Some influence from the F 700 research vehicle of 2007 can be spotted: a mild, harmonious rear end with beautifully shaped LED lamps is left to fight with a very aggressive, heavy and gnarled front fascia, dominated by a gargantuan, powerful grille, also inspired by the F 700, but at least harking back to old, traditional Mercedes-Benz cars built during the first decades of the 20th century. To continue in the same note and the make room for equipment, such as the radars used for the MAGIC BODY CONTROL ride management system, the headlight needed to be bigger. And they are... huge and overdesigned, we say. So far, the evidence points to the computer-generated illustration Autobild released back in 2010.
Hopefully, the Germans haven't screwed up the new S-Class aesthetically and Mercedes-Benz is not living its own "Bangle era" as BMW did between 2000 and 2006. This prestigious model, boasting a rich heritage, does not need to be visually intriguing. It just has to be what it's intended to be: an S-Class by all means.
Image Credits: Mercedes Fans
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
