Mercedes Benz CLK-class History
The Mercedes-Benz W209 cars have been produced since 2002. They are sold under the CLK-Class model names. The W209 is based on the W203 C-Class. It replaced the C208 CLK-Class after 2004 which were the first car to carry the CLK moniker.
The W209 is available in two body styles, a coupe and a cabriolet, and is manufactured with diesel and petrol engines ranging from four cylinder (CLK200) to eight cylinder (CLK500 and CLK63AMG). The cabriolet (Designated with an A, as in CLK500A) features a fully automatic retractable soft top covered by a metal tonneau that can be raised and lowered from outside the vehicle using the key fob.
A W209 CLK 63 AMG DTM "Black Series" was produced as a MY2006 in both a coupe and later cabriolet model. Styling cues were taken from the full race car version for the German Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters racing series. The car includes a wider body, carbon fiber accents, and upgraded suspension.
The CLK is designed to fill the mid-luxury market position for coupes and convertibles. It is Mercedes-Benz's only 4-seat cabriolet. Its direct competitors in the cabriolet market are the Volvo C70 and the Lexus SC430, although it is available with larger engines than any of its direct competitors. The CLK is positioned midway between the BMW 3 series coupe/cabriolet and the 6 series coupe/cabriolet.
The CLK is a superlative vehicle whose handling is exceptionally precise even under extreme cornering, road, and weather conditions, and whose performance is equal to the fastest readily available sports cars on the market. Performance is electronically limited to 135mph in the CLK350 and CLK500 models, and to 155mph in the CLK55 model. An AMG factory option is available for an unrestricted top speed.
The Electronic Stability Control (ESP) and Anti-lock braking system (ABS) are both excellent aids to handling, making such feats as a 90' degree turn on a typical two lane intersection from 50mph possible using simple hard braking and turning with no significant fishtailing. Although the ESP system can be manually turned off, it never actually allows the wheels to spin completely freely. For example, the ESP system makes drifting (intentional high-power fishtailing) impossible without shutting the ESP system off using a factory test protocol that end-users cannot enable.
Each model seats four and in the US this includes an all-leather interior with burl walnut trim. For Europe the models are available as "Elegance" or "Avantgarde" versions, basically Luxury or Sport specification where the Elegance uses Burr Walnut trim and polished alloy wheels the Avantgarde uses alloy trim and chunky wheels. The price and specification for European models is otherwise the same. The 4 cyl. cars wear 16" wheels While the CLK320, CLK350 and CLK500 come with 17 inch (432 mm) alloy wheels, the CLK55 AMG sports 18 inch (457 mm) wheels. The cabriolets have a remote-operated automatic soft-top and sensor-controlled roll bars. Since 2000, all US cars come standard with a Tele Aid emergency assistance system, automatic dual-zone air conditioning, 10-way power front seats and rain-sensing windshield wipers. Seven-channel digital surround sound comes standard. A Keyless Go system, navigation system, Parktronic system, and bi-xenon HID headlamps are all available as options. All models come with four side airbags.European cars differ considerably and are usually specced depending on the buyer's needs.
The cars have a manual sport/comfort mode switch that sets the transmission to start in 2nd gear and shift earlier in comfort mode. The new 7-speed transmission ads about 20% better fuel mileage in real driving conditions over the 5-speed with no loss in performance, although the additional shifting can be noticeable. In the CLK500, at 80mph, the 5-speed transmission runs at about 3000rpm, while the 7-speed runs at about 2200rpm. Both transmissions include automatic best gear finding so that the driver need not keep track of which gear the car is in during performance driving, and in the AMG model, the transmission can be set to stay in the highest possible gear for the best possible performance.
The 5-speed CLK500 gets an average of 15mpg in real city driving conditions, whereas the 7-speed CLK500 get an average of about 18mpg under the same conditions. Both add about 3mpg for highway driving.
The W209 CLK-Class is 2.4 inches (61 mm) longer, 0.7 inches (18 mm) wider and 1.1 inch (28 mm) higher than its predecessor.
In Europe there was also the CLK 200 K (1.8 R4), CLK 220 CDI (2.1 R4 diesel), CLK 240 (2.6 V6), CLK 270 CDI (2.7 R5 diesel), CLK 280 (3.0 V6), CLK 320 CDI (3.0 V6 diesel); (all standard with 6-speed manual transmission, automatic transmission is optional) 2004 Mercedes-Benz CLK55 AMG cabriolet 2004 Mercedes-Benz CLK55 AMG cabriolet.
2014 Mercedes S-Class - assistance systems animation
Mercedes has officially unveiled the 2014 S-Class at the Airbus A380 delivery center in Hamburg, Germany.
Designed to become one of the most luxurious and advanced vehicles ever constructed, the 2014 S-Class has an evolutionary design that incorporates a sportier front fascia, a larger grille and a gentle slanting rear end. The sleek styling enables the model to have drag coefficient of 0.24 which is pretty impressive considering the pint-sized CLA has a drag coefficient of 0.23.
Mercedes Benz CLK 200K
Ein Blick auf den CLK. Im Film sieht man das Fahrzeug innen und aussen.
A look inside and outside of a Mercedes Benz CLK 200 Kompressor.
Mercedes Benz SLR Commercial "Lottery"
The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is an Anglo-German sports car jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive, built jointly in Portsmouth and the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. Daimler AG, owner of Mercedes-Benz, also owns 40% of the McLaren Group.
Due to the presence of the automatic gear box, front mid-engined arrangement and its driving characteristics lead some commentators to classify the SLR McLaren as a GT whose rivals can be considered to be e.g. the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish and Ferrari 599 GTB.
It is the fastest automatic transmission car in the world. SLR stands for "Sport, Leicht, Rennsport" (sport, light, racing). Mercedes-Benz has stated that they will build 3500 SLRs in a span of 7 years, with an annual production of only 500 cars. The car's base price is GB£300,000 (approx. US$495,000 or €475,000, c. 2007).
The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is inspired by the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR of 1955, based on the W196 F1 car, yet named after the road-going 300SL Gullwing. On 4 April 2008, Mercedes announced they will cease production of the SLR. The last of the coupes rolled off the production line at the end of 2007 and the roadster version is due to be discontinued in early 2009.
The brake discs are carbon-ceramic and provide better stopping power and fade resistance than steel discs when operating under ideal working temperature. Mercedes-Benz claims these discs are fade resistant to 1200°C. The front discs are internally vented and 370 mm in diameter. 8 piston calipers are used. Rear discs are 360 mm in diameter with 4 piston calipers. During wet conditions the calipers automatically skim the surface of the disks to keep them dry.
To improve braking performance there is an automatic air brake, when engaged the rear elevation angle of the rear spoiler is set to 65 degrees. The additional rear downforce in addition to the markedly increased aerodynamic drag increases peak deceleration ~25%.
The SLR features active aerodynamics; there is a spoiler mounted on the rear integral air brake flap. The spoiler increases downforce depending on its angle of elevation (angle of attack). At speeds above 95 km/h the spoiler/brake automatically raises to 10 degrees (15 in 722 edition), when demanded via the driver's switch, the elevation can be increased to 30 degrees (35 in 722 version) for increased rear downforce, at the cost of increased steady state drag.
The SLR McLaren sports a hand-built 5.4-litre, supercharged V8 engine.
The SLR sports a 232-kilogram (512 lb), hand-built, 5.4-litre (5439 cc/331.9 cu in), supercharged, all-aluminum, SOHC V8 engine. The cylinders are angled at 90 degrees with three valves per cylinder and lubricated via a dry sump system. The compression ratio is 8.8:1 and the bore and stroke is 97 millimetre (3.82 in) and 92 millimeters (3.62 in), respectively. The Lysholm-type twin-screw Supercharger produces 0.9 bar (13 psi) of Boost, the turbine rotates at 23000 revolutions per minute, and the air is cooled via two Intercoolers. The engine generates a maximum power of 626 PS (617 hp/460 kW) at 6500 revolutions per minute and a maximum torque of 780 newton-metres (575 ft·lbf) at 3250 revolutions per minute. 2003 models were leaving showrooms at 616 bhp (459 kW/625 PS) and now are slightly increased to 626 bhp (467 kW/635 PS) .
Unlike most of its contemporaries, its engine is front-mid mounted. McLaren took the original concept car designed by Mercedes and moved the engine 1 metre (39.4 in) behind the front bumper, and around 50 centimetres (19.7 in) behind the front axle. They also optimized the design of the center firewall.
