Mercedes-Benz used the Frankfurt Motor Show to give us a glimpse into the future of its S-class flagship sedan. The opulent F700 concept, penned at Mercedes' Irvine, California, design center, represents the highest evolution of the company's unique "Aqua Dynamic" language, a look pioneered in the fish-inspired 2006 Bionic concept. Power comes from a 1.8-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine packing an array of advanced technologies to improve efficiency, including turbocharging, direct-injection, variable compression, and sparkplug-less ignition, similar to that of a diesel engine. Dubbed the DIESOTTO, the engine produces a very healthy 235 horsepower, a figure further boosted by an electric assist motor, which adds another 20 horsepower. The whole system churns out 295 pound-feet of torque, sufficient to take the F700 to 60 mph in about 7.4 seconds. Perhaps the F700's most noteworthy trait, particularly considering its size (17 feet long, just shy of the current long-wheelbase S-class sedan), is that the car will return a stellar 44.3 mpg, suggesting that, in the future, supreme luxury might not necessarily demand conspicuous consumption.
Watch the Mercedes-Benz media briefing on the F700, direct from Frankfurt.
Bionic Concept link courtesy of Popular Science.
Photos courtesy of Mercedes-Benz.
