Mercedes S-Class Plug-In Hybrid set to hit the road
Play
German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz will introduce the plug-in hybrid version of its S-Class flagship model at the upcoming Frankfurt Auto Show next month.
The third hybrid model of the new S-Class, the S 500 Plug-in Hybrid, sets new a benchmark in efficiency. With CO2 emissions of 69 g/km and returning 40.5km/litre, the S-Class sets a new benchmark for luxury saloons that just a few years ago were thought virtually impossible.
In Germany, the S 500 Plug-in Hybrid is referred to as a genuine 3.0-litre car as it can cover 100 kilometres on just three litres of fuel. The 80-kW electric drive with externally rechargeable battery makes emission-free driving for about 30 kilometres possible, powered by a new 3.0-litre V6 turbocharged engine. Mercedes-Benz will present the S 500 Plug-in at the Frankfurt Auto Show next month and launch the car next year.
According to Mercedes-Benz, the S 400 Hybrid was the first car in the world to feature a standard-specification hybrid drive system with a lithium-ion battery in 2009. With the new S-Class, Mercedes-Benz expands its hybrid line-up in this model series to three: the S 400 Hybrid, the S 300 BlueTec Hybrid and S 500 Plug-in Hybrid. In all second-generation hybrid drive systems, the combustion engine can be completely decoupled from the electric motor. Further features are the second-generation recuperative braking system and the anticipatory Intelligent Hybrid energy management system.
“With the S 500 Plug-in, Mercedes-Benz sets another milestone on the road to emission-free mobility on the basis of our modular hybrid matrix,” explains Thomas Weber, who’s responsible on the Daimler Board of Management for Group Research and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Product Engineering. “In this way the S-Class turns into a genuine 3-litre car with generous space and superlative drive-system comfort.”
While the batteries of the S 400 Hybrid and S 300 BlueTec Hybrid as autonomous hybrids are charged during braking or coasting or by the combustion engine, the new high-voltage lithium-ion battery of the S 500 Plug-In has ten times the energy content and offers the option of being recharged from an external source with a charging socket located on the right side of the rear bumper.
