Unveiled at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt last fall, the Mercedes-Benz F700 Research Car was a shining symbol of what lay ahead in the coming years for the Mercedes brand.  Featuring a host of technological advancements, the remarkably fuel-efficient DiesOtto powerplant and a radically stylized design, it was meant to act more-or-less as a laboratory on wheels, allowing designers and researchers to test the many elements that will eventually make their way into the vehicles you and I drive.

Of course, reading a feature list is one thing, but one must wonder:   "How functional are the various technologies utilized on the F700 (or any other research vehicle for that matter)?"  To help provide some insight into that very question, Mercedes took the liberty of granting a select number of journalists firsthand access to the F700, the result of which is yet another installment of our now-famous Mercedes Review Roundup.

To see what journalists thought of the Mercedes F700 Research Car, you can find excerpts from the two reviews analyzing the concept as well as links back to the full articles immediately below.

Enjoy.


Mercedes-Benz F700 Research Car (via The Sun)
Reviewer's rating:  Unspecified

"I got a behind-closed-doors sneak preview of the Mercedes test site in Seville and it was like being invited by Q into the secret, hi-tech world of 007.  So I donned a special scientist jacket and glasses to fit in better – although I ended up looking more like an Elvis Costello tribute act.

The F700 is an S-Class that has been to the gym. It’s leaner, meaner and more macho, with muscles appearing from every wheel arch.  But this concept’s beauty is in its brains, not bigger bulges. It is nicknamed the Flying Carpet because of a gadget they call Pre-Scan Suspension.  That involves lasers housed in the headlamps scanning the road up to ten metres ahead so the suspension can prepare even earlier for speed humps or potholes to keep a superbly smooth drive.  There are even lasers in the wing mirrors to check for obstacles when opening the doors.

Inside, the F700 is like a bachelor pad. There’s a unique giro-chair which reverses in five sections so that the front passenger can face backwards towards the 51cm 3D plasma screen with cinema surround sound.  There’s even what Mercedes have called a sushi bar console in the back, and legroom is so good even Peter Crouch could stretch out.

For the driver there is a control system called Human Machine Interface.  The driving dials are on a mirrored screen perfectly placed in your driving eye line to reduce eye movement from the road to the dials and therefore lessen tiredness on long journeys.  But my favourite innovation is that KITT from Knight Rider has gone from being a camp Englishman to a stunning blonde German called Gloria!  Computer-generated Gloria appears on a screen, greets you and chats away as you ask her for satnav directions, to call a contact on your phone or to change the radio station. Now that’s what I call progress.

But the genius in the F700 is under the bonnet. The Diesotto engine makes its debut in this car and offers incredible performance for what would normally be a gas-guzzler.  It combines the low emissions of a petrol engine with a diesel’s fuel economy and is the first time diesel technology has been used in a petrol engine."

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Mercedes-Benz F700 Research Car (via Autoweek)
Reviewer's rating:  Unspecified

"As it turns out, the luxury car of the future doesn't look much like the spindly, teardrop-shaped, hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered creation envisioned a decade or so ago.  If this world-exclusive drive of the Mercedes-Benz F700 research vehicle is an indication, the luxury car of 2020 and beyond will be very similar to those on Mercedes dealer lots now.

Sure, it will look different, with exaggerated proportions and an aerodynamic shape. But according to Mercedes, this future S-Class will run a gasoline engine and an automatic gearbox and offer the same space, performance and comfort as the current flagship.

When you're behind the steering wheel, it is apparent that in spite of its futuristic theme, the F700's major controls bear a strong resemblance to those in today's S-Class. The big four-seater's interior layout and overall packaging are close to production reality.

The F700's gasoline-electric-hybrid drivetrain holds the biggest clue to Mercedes' future luxury car.  A front-mounted, twin-turbocharged, 1.8-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine runs in combination with a transmission-mounted electric motor.  The experimental engine combines elements of both gasoline and diesel units, with differing injection and variable compression depending on drive conditions. The idea is to combine the power, smoothness and low emissions of a gasoline engine with the torque, flexibility and frugality of a diesel. Mercedes calls it DiesOtto, in honor of inventors Rudolf Diesel and Nikolaus Otto.

The F700 comes to life using the same electronic key as today's S-Class, running first in spark-ignition mode, with a lean air-fuel mixture injected directly into the cylinders. Once temperatures rise and the engine is under light loads, it automatically switches to variable-compression ignition, and the spark plugs deactivate.

The new engine lacks production-ready refinement; it now feels a bit like an out-of-tune supercharged 1.8-liter four. Still, it delivers power in a smooth, linear manner sufficient to ensure that the F700 won't be left behind at a traffic light. Its 238 hp compares favorably with Mercedes' existing 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine, with a 20-hp electric motor to provide additional power under acceleration."

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