In the F100, the driver was seated in the middle. Never before had so many ideas and innovative technologies been realised in a fully operational car. This research car gave tangible expression to the vision of engineers and market strategists for the automobile of the future. The 3.3-litre diesel engine tested in the Auto 2000 had exemplary accelerating power thanks to its six cylinders and two turbochargers it offered an excellent range of 7.5 litres per 100 kilometres (about 31.3 mpg) at a speed of 120 km/h.ĭaimler-Benz deliberately chose the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 1991 – the first major trade show of the year – to present a very special automobile: the Mercedes-Benz F 100. When only little power was required, four of the eight combustion chambers were temporarily shut down – today this is a feature of several large-displacement petrol engines built by Mercedes-Benz. An automatic cylinder cutoff system was premiered in a 3.8-litre V8 petrol engine. As many as three different engine concepts were tested in this vehicle. It had an aerodynamically optimised body with a very low Cd (drag coefficient) of 0.28. The Auto 2000, first presented to the public at the 1981 Frankfurt International Motor Show and was meant to accommodate four people. Fuel consumption was not to exceed eleven litres per 100 km (21.3 mpg) for a vehicle with a cerb weight of up to 2,150 kilograms – a very ambitious target in those days – and the maximum for vehicles weighing 1,250 to 1,700 kilograms was 9.5 litres/100 km (24.7 mpg). Little reason to go there – a 500 SL is good enough, there are plenty of good cars on offer, and it’s doubtful they will get cheaper than today.Įnter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.In the late 1970s the Federal German Ministry for Research and Technology launched the Auto 2000 project, in which several carmakers participated. Finally the AMG models are very rare and correspondingly expensive.
The same money will buy you a 600 SL with the 394 hp V12, but besides huge running costs, driving-wise that also becomes a very front-heavy car. Cars with smaller engines will not necessarily be cheaper and certainly not give any additional thrills. The SL is a two-seater, whether it has back seats or not.Ī solid, relatively low-mileage SL 500 with the indestructible 326 hp V8 is easily yours for EUR 25.000 or even less, and that’s the wisest choice in the line-up. It will not give you the thrill of an Italian full-blood, but if you choose somewhat wisely, not anywhere near the same running costs either.
The SL is a two-seater and an Autobahn cruiser by excellence, steady, heavy, reliable. Some cars have (very small) rear seats whereas others only have a flat surface, but in both cases, the area is really only useful as extra luggage space. The larger the engine, the better the equipment level, but interestingly all cars were delivered with a hard top, to complement the regular soft top. The SL had some innovative solutions such as an automatic, invisible roll bar and seat belts integrated in the seat backs. The 500 V8 with 326 hp in a well-filled engine room. No doubt the most well-known models in Europe are the 300 SL with a sraight six, and the V8 500 SL developing 326 hp – probably one of the most reliable engines in the modern era. The 90’s SL had a number of different drive trains through the years, from a relatively modest 2.8 litre straight six to a monstrous 7.3 litre AMG V12 developing 525 hp. But again, Mercs from this period were pretty much indestructible, and their buyers, typically elderly German doctors, didn’t look much at driving thrills – so from that perspective, why change a winning concept? The R129 was built from 1989 through to 2001, an incredibly long lifetime if you compare to today. Cars from 1995 had white turn signal glasses. The R129, here with body kit, one of Bruno Sacco’s best designs. In parallel however, Mercedes still built cars based on the previous generation, and one of them, the Mercedes SL (R129), is no doubt the most attractive car from the era – and still a bit of a bargain. That period reached its peak in the mid-90’s but unfortunately ended with the E-class internally known as the W210, launched in 1995, which tainted the reputation for solid quality quite heavily. There was a time when Mercedes had a well-deserved reputation for building unbreakable cars.
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