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Mercedes-Benz Museum Opens Drive Technologies of the Future Exhibit

This Saturday Jan. 29 marks the 125th anniversary of the automobile based on Mercedes-Benz’ assertion that Carl Benz’ patent application for his motor car commenced the whole thing rolling to where we are today. To mark the occasion, Mercedes-Benz has opened an exhibit at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart on drive technologies of the future.

Starting Jan. 30, as well as seeing the 125 years of Mercedes-Benz automotive history, visitors to the museum can learn more about the drive technologies of the future in the newly designed exhibition room Legend 6: “New start – The Road to Emission-free Mobility.”

The drive technologies of the future featured at the Mercedes-Benz museum include some old and current automobiles that point the way to future drive technologies.

  • The oldest in the exhibit is the Mercedes-Benz Auto 2000 from the 1981 Frankfurt International Motor Show. It was built in response to a German government challenge to build a car with the lowest fuel consumption.
  • The 1994 NECAR 1 (New Electric Car) was the world’s first fuel-cell vehicle, a technology that dominates the exhibit. The eletcric energy derived from the hydrogen fuel cell powered the car’s electric motor.
  • The B-Class F-CELL is contemporary technology. Introduced in 2010, it was the the first series-production electric car with fuel cell to hit the market. It’s pollutant-free emissions come from a fuel cell generating traction current for a car with a range of 400 km or about 250 miles. It can be fueled almost instantly.
  • The Vito E-Cell (which sounds like something from The Sopranos) is a van designed for inner-city delivery use. It has a range of about 80 miles (130 km) and goes up to 50 mph (or 80 km). It’s perfectly suited for busy metropolitan areas like Berlin, Paris or Manhattan.
  • Technically, the only future drive technology in the exhibit comes from the third-generation SLK-Class with its BlueEFFICIENCY measures such as direct injection and the ECO start/stop function that make the car up to 30% more efficient.
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