Team-BHP
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Big shoutout to Eddy for shooting these pictures & his coverage of the Auto Expo. Thanks for sharing, man!
For the last three years, Mercedes has consistently sold more cars than its German competitors. Their pavilion was similar to the 2016 Auto Expo, but they had a lot to show this time around:
Some eye candy at the stall. The Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid:
The beast of the green hell as they call it. Apart from the BIC timing displayed on the floor, it has also set a time of 7 minutes and 11 seconds around the Nordschleife:
The Mercedes stall is incomplete without loads of accessories:
You think you'd be done going through all of them, until you see this:
And the collection continues:
This year, Mercedes focused on showcasing three cars in particular:
• The Mercedes-Maybach S 650
• The Concept EQ
• The E-Class E 220 d 4MATIC All-Terrain
Mercedes-Maybach S 650
The Mercedes-Maybach S650 was launched at the Auto Expo at a price of Rs. 2.73 crore:
The S650 comes with a EU6 compliant engine and makes 621 BHP and 1000 Nm of torque. In terms of exteriors, it gets quite a few additions over the regular S-Class. This particular car is painted in what Mercedes calls Designo Alanite Grey Magno paint finish. It's an exquisite matte paint finish that also shows the sparkles of the paint but has a matte dull look on top. You only realise it's matte when you touch it or look really carefully at it. The paint is supposedly very very tough and immune to small scratches and swirls. On the flip side, very very expensive and difficult to repaint or detail if you do have to restore it later on:
The big chrome grille, although of similar shape as the regular S-Class has more details and has double horizontal slats instead of single ones. Look closely on the right and you can even see the Maybach badge. The wide air-dam at the bottom also has a chrome background:
The headlights have multibeam LED lamps with triple torch design:
Just look at the low ground clearance and how tight the wheel well and tyre combo is!
The luxury sedan has swooping design elements which make it look very classy:
The twin exhausts at the bottom aren't fake like the E-Class. Chrome bits added to increase the sense of luxury:
A close look at the crystalline design inside the tail lamps:
Under the hood is a 6.0-litre V12 engine which is claimed to take the car from 0-100 km/h in 4.7 seconds:
These are Maybach forged wheels with 20-hole trim, painted and polished, including fully integrated wheel bolt covers. They're shod with 245/40 R 20 tyres at the front and 275/35 R 20 tyres at the rear:
The Maybach logo on the C-pillar is again subtle:
On the inside, the design is minimalist and sets a new benchmark for class:
The trim option displayed here is the piano lacquer with flowing lines in black:
The doorpad carries forward the dashboard trim and upholstery:
A closer look at the buttons on the driver side door for the seat adjustment and memory functions along with the window and ORVM controls. Everything falls in place just right:
Not one, but 2 scuff plates. The outside one gets the Maybach branding:
Radar based driving assistance system controls:
Nice detailing on the pedals:
The touchpad for the ICE control along with other driving related controls on the center console:
Entertainment for the rear seats:
The 2-section panoramic sliding sunroof changes from dark to transparent or vice versa within a few seconds:
The rear seats are supremely luxurious!
The rear seats get more options for the seat adjustment as compared to the front seats:
You'll probably lose count of the number of speakers in this car:
The AC vents for the rear seats are similar to the front. The controls and display for the same are placed below:
Beltbags - Airbags inside the seatbelts!
The Concept EQ
Mercedes Benz Generation EQ Concept premiered at the 2016 Paris Motor Show:
The Concept EQ is how Mercedes views the electric vehicles of the future. If the vision of the future includes an SUV that looks like this, I'm sure it will be popular in India:
The EQ is driven by 2 electric motors on the front and rear axles. The battery is placed inside the vehicle floor. The total power output of the vehicle would be close to 400 BHP and the torque would be around 700 Nm. The car is expected to have a range of up to 500 km. The front features a wide grille which is integrated with the headlamps. The black colour of the bonnet is carried over to the roof as well:
Fake vents in the grille light up:
No door handles, no ORVMs. That's how the cars of the future are going to be:
The rear lights are similar to the front. The blue colour changes to red when the vehicle is moving and acts as a taillight:
The big Mercedes logo up front is illuminated in white (No chrome logo). The edges of the LED strip transform to turn indicators when moving:
The sleek headlamps are LEDs:
These are 21-inch alloy wheels:
The interiors of the vehicle weren't shown. The EQ is a 4-seater with light white coloured leather upholstery:
The dashboard has a 24-inch wide-screen display that displays information like the speed, range, driving data or navigation and map details:
This is the charging station for the vehicle:
Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain
Sometime later this year, Mercedes will be launching the E-Class All-Terrain. The car will be based on a new platform and will be available only in the 220d guise. The only things that are mechanically different from the regular E-Class are an extra all-terrain driving mode, AWD system, air body control and the AIRMATIC air suspension system. The car will be aimed towards a very niche community of people who are looking for a vehicle which offers driving pleasure and can be used as a utility vehicle as well for the family getaways:
In the estate version of the E-class, there are a few changes on the outside apart from just the body shape. The E220d all-terrain rides on 19-inch alloy wheels. The wheel arches get black cladding for the SUV look:
The glass area is huge. The pillars are finished in black and the car also gets roof rails:
The front gets the two-fin grille with the Mercedes logo in the middle. The front bumper has air dam integrated skid plates which are electroplated in silver chrome:
LED headlamps with integrated twin DRLS are same as the E-Class:
The rear gets split tail lamps with the crystalline design theme:
The 19-inch wheels are shod with 245/45 section tyres:
The interiors are similar to the LWB E-Class:
The steering is nice to hold & effortless to use:
The instrument cluster is same as the E-class. It's conventional and not the virtual one offered in some versions abroad:
The pedals have a metal finish unlike the ones on the E-Class:
Clock on the center console looks classy:
The rear is cooled by a single-zone A/C (dual in the S-Class):
The rear passengers don't get the wide range of adjustments available with the regular E-Class:
White cabin lights placed on the side of the roof because of the split panoramic sunroof:
A look at the maximum and minimum legroom:
The tailgate opens upwards to reveal 640 litres of boot space. Fold the rear seats and that can be extended to 1,620 litres:
The toolbox kit below the boot was taken away during the expo:
Mercedes also had other cars from their line-up on display.
Here's the 2017 GLS 350d 4MATIC:
The only change in the new model is that the middle seat folding which was manual earlier is now electric. Check out the automatic folding:
The AMG SLC 43's 3.0-litre engine makes 362 BHP:
The Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 4MATIC Coupe has a 3.0-litre V6 biturbo engine which is claimed to take the car from 0-100 km/h in 4.9 seconds:
The C-Class Cabriolet C 300 got a lot of attention from the crowd:
The C 250 d Edition C in red:
The regular E350d LWB. Check out the review
here.
Here's the GLA 220d 4MATIC:
The car was attached with an accessory to carry 2 bicycles:
The GLC 220 d 4MATIC:
Suddenly, LS500 now feels competitive and definitely more premium. I am not sure who will be customers for these and what extra does one get over the regular Maybach apart from the engine.
That Estate AWD E Class looks hideous, I cannot think of anyone who will buy an estate salon because it has an AWD instead of 2 wheels with so low ground clearance and a long body, wonder what purpose does this serve? This must be CBU so will just add to the number of variants MB has.
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