In a follow-up to our last post, Mercedes today has released an in-depth look at the development, testing and production work that went in to creating the Mercedes S600 Guard.

While it's true most of us won't be in the market for a B6/B7 armored S-Class anytime soon, the article still provides an interesting look at what goes into the making of such a vehicle.

If you have some free time, keep reading for the full details of the S600 Guard's testing and production stages.


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


Development, testing and production: Safety first is our motto

Stuttgart, Oct 16, 2006
Mercedes-Benz engineers always start thinking about safety at a very early stage. And the developers of the armoured special-protection models that go by the name of Mercedes-Benz Guard are no different. Their work begins as early as two years before the first pilot-production model of the conventional, non-armoured series even takes shape.

At this early stage, special-protection development is based on the design and production data records which describe every last detail of the future model. The engineers use this information to determine where the protective elements can be housed in the bodyshell. This is primarily a question of the available space. Steel and plastic armour is installed so that it is inconspicuous and in no way diminishes the customer benefit delivered by the standard-production model – for instance, it has to be just as easy to get into the car, and the car must provide the same feeling of well-being and spaciousness.

The developers are equally meticulous in their approach when it comes to implementing design measures to compensate for the stresses caused by the extra weight of a special-protection vehicle. The protective cell with its robust armour is a fully integral part of the car and, as such, allows the forces of any impacts to be channelled into it via the wheels, bearings, axle components and body reinforcements.

In addition to this, maintenance and repair requirements have to be taken into account as early as the design stage, since workshop staff need easy access to all the vehicle's major components despite the armoured shield around the car.

The special-protection developers also have to factor in certain parameters, such as how to best use existing series-production facilities. If these do not meet their requirements, however, the specialists are not averse to developing their own solutions for the production of individual components.

For the Mercedes-Benz S-Guard, the developers designed around 500 components alone using steel. Then there are numerous components made from plastic and glass. They all join together with the bodyshell to create a fully-enclosed cell which is self-supporting and therefore further reinforces the vehicle. This is one of the main reasons behind the vehicle's outstanding durability and longevity.

Stress on the test rig

One thing the Mercedes-Benz special-protection experts are keen to avoid is a reliance on theory. This is why they fully check the design measures under realistic conditions, subjecting the Guard models to an extensive series of in-house tests. The vehicles are checked on test rigs using specially selected products and placed under extreme loads so that even the slightest flaws are inexorably detected and remedied.

The hydropulse rig, for example, is used to test ride comfort, active safety and durability. Here the methods applied constitute nothing but pure stress for the vehicles on test. Their wheels are positioned on four hydraulically operated cylinders which simulate torture-track vibrations. These cylinders can also make the wheels vibrate at random or imitate sudden collisions with sharp-edged objects. The aim of all this is to determine the correct configuration for optimal road contact and, therefore, optimal active safety. Meticulous optimisation of the tiniest details is also part of the programme, including fine-tuning of the shock absorbers, engine mounts and axle mounts.

In the hot- and cold-air tunnels, on the other hand, all that matters is temperature. Wind speeds of up to 100 km/h, temperatures as high as 50 degrees or as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius and 100-percent relative humidity add up to create a hellish climate, the like of which most places on earth reachable by road never even experience. Here the aim is to ensure optimum passenger comfort even under the most extreme of climate conditions.

Extensive tests are carried out to ensure that each Guard vehicle meets stringent Mercedes-Benz crash requirements. With respect to occupant safety in road accidents, the special-protection vehicles are therefore fully up to date and, like every Mercedes-Benz production vehicle, achieve excellent ratings in crash tests.

Further simulations are performed to make sure that external factors cannot interfere with the vehicle's electronic systems and that the vehicle acoustics are of the usual high Mercedes standard.

Yet the old adage still applies: the sternest challenge is everyday life. This is why Mercedes-Benz Guard models undergo an additional one hundred thousand kilometres of testing in practically every corner of the world, the aim being to verify their practicality in all conceivable climate conditions and road or traffic scenarios. They are driven on the most atrocious surfaces, continuously bounced over a series of obstacles and plunged mercilessly into deep potholes. They also have to endure extreme manoeuvres during test and trial drives on the Grossglockner mountain pass, on cordoned-off test tracks or in the sweltering heat of Laredo in Texas. All in the name of optimising steering comfort and fine-tuning the chassis, brakes and electronic control systems.

Mercedes-Benz Guard production: all done by hand

Guard models are produced on a dedicated production line which is part of the large-scale series-production network. Here, on two floors, hand-picked specialists assemble the Mercedes-Benz special-protection models. And highly-skilled manual work is very much the order of the day.

This begins with the production of the 500 or so steel elements for the S 600 Guard. An engineer uses a 3000-bar water jet to cut each part, working to a pattern comprising sheets of high-alloyed special steels of varying sizes and thicknesses, which have been continuously further enhanced over a period of several decades.

Shaping these steel components requires an immense degree of feel and vast experience in the handling of hard, ductile special steels which can often prove extremely unruly during this process. Experts who are familiar with every last detail of the steel's structure, and who use this knowledge in every step of the process, man special presses equipped with in-house-developed bending and shaping tools. Here every tenth of a millimetre counts as there is so little installation space available in the car. They carefully start bending the material around, meticulously check the initial result using specially produced gauges and then continue shaping the material until they are satisfied with the result.

Some components are welded together by hand to form larger subassemblies which are then heat-treated in their entirety. This process radically alters the steel's structure, making the steel impossible to bend. Only then does it fulfil the stringent ballistic requirements.

After this, specialists install the protective components in the bodyshell. Then components such as the side walls have to be returned to the production line where they are integrated into the body in a process known as geometric joining. This process ensures that the Mercedes-Benz Guard bodyshells have exactly the same geometry as their standard-production counterparts. Specially trained Guard fitters then get to work again to reinforce the entire basic structure of the vehicle. This reinforcement process takes in the vehicle floor, the chassis mountings, brackets for the floor armour, covers for the tunnel area and other components. In between each stage of production, the Guard components repeatedly pass through strict in-house checkpoints for quality-control purposes. Finally the bodyshells are returned to the series-production line to be painted in accordance with stringent Mercedes-Benz paint-quality and corrosion-protection standards.

After the paintwork has been applied, the engine, chassis and interior are fitted – painstakingly by hand once more. Only then is the passenger cell fully protected. And only then does it meet typically high Mercedes quality standards.

Mercedes-Benz Guard safety philosophy: Factory-integrated special protection for complete safety

Common to all Mercedes-Benz Guard vehicles is the philosophy of integrated special protection. This means that, rather than retrofitting the protective features for the doors, rear wall, side panels, roof lining and firewall etc. in an already finished vehicle, the specialists fully integrate them into the bodyshell on a dedicated production line. This effectively creates a coat of armour around the entire passenger cell. Even the roof frame struts, door locks, door gaps, exterior mirror mountings and other components are incorporated into this high-security concept.

Only the integrated protection concept allows highly effective detailed solutions of this kind and enables Mercedes-Benz Guard models to offer such complete protection. Specialists see to it that any potential weakspots are fully protected: at gaps in the body, at the doors or at the joins between metal and glass sections, an ingenious, overlapping system prevents projectiles from penetrating the interior. Hence Mercedes-Benz Guard vehicles provide their occupants with seamless all-round protection. High Protection or Highest Protection is combined with hallmark Mercedes-Benz build quality, even in those areas where post-production access would be all but impossible.

A further advantage of integrated special protection is that the protective features actually reinforce the body structure rather than exerting extra strain. In addition, our integrated design approach means that any body-structure reinforcements required due to the weight of the protective elements can be integrated right from the very start. These reinforcements include chassis suspension units or sturdier door hinges and window frames, for example. The window frames support the special side windows which are coated on the inside with a tough polycarbonate layer, while the hinges have to support doors whose weight is increased to over 100 kg on account of their special-protection features. Despite this extra weight, the hinges operate smoothly and reliably for the entire lifetime of the car. The result is extraordinary longevity and the same exceptional quality all round that distinguishes Mercedes-Benz standard-production models.

All Mercedes-Benz Guard models display the same outstanding ride comfort and effortlessly superior handling as their series-production counterparts. Furthermore, generously dimensioned chassis components and brakes ensure that their handling qualities are almost on a par with those of the standard-production models, thus giving the driver an optimal driving feel with high dynamic reserves at all times. The chassis is also designed to provide hallmark Mercedes ride comfort despite the extra weight.

Thanks to the seamless integration of the special-protection features, the paint quality and corrosion protection also match the high standards of conventional Mercedes-Benz passenger cars. And, needless to say, all Guard models can be serviced in any Mercedes-Benz workshop.

Combination of high-tech materials

For a high level of protection, the passenger cells of Mercedes-Benz Guard vehicles are clad in armour made of state-of-the-art materials such as glass/plastic combinations, high-strength special steel or special steel-and-plastic composites.

Mercedes engineers use high-alloyed special steels and are constantly researching new materials to determine the optimal degree of protection for each particular resistance level. They do this on an in-house firing range equipped with laser measuring devices. This commitment to exploring the potential of new materials and technologies has made Mercedes-Benz the number-one trailblazer in the field of special-protection vehicle development – a position it has held for several decades. The experts' aim is to reconcile the highest degree of protection with the lowest possible weight.

Armour that is invisible from the outside

On the outside, there is hardly any difference at all between a Mercedes-Benz Guard Saloon and its standard-production counterpart. That's because when it comes to special protection, discretion is just as much of a must as trust, reliability and quality. Statesmen, diplomats and senior business figures all over the world appreciate being able to travel incognito in vehicles that do not immediately betray their special status. But even those customers who are less in the public spotlight realise that discretion is the best form of protection. And because the protective elements in Mercedes-Benz Guard models are already integrated into the bodyshell, they not only offer extremely effective protection, they are also inconspicuous in everyday life. Nobody actually sees the hard core that lies within.




Copyright © 2006, DaimlerChrysler AG