the Mercedes S500 plug-in hybrid debuting in Frankfurt
hybrid powerplant standard equipment in the next-generation of the S-Class, due in 2014.
the entire Mercedes lineup will soon be hybrids
Mercedes has built a Mercedes S Class that can average 73 mpg!
Some recent plug-in hybrid prototypes have been pretty spartan affairs. Little, frugal-looking cars. Perfect utilitarian transport. Perfect cars for a downsize life.
Now comes just the opposite: Mercedes-Benz's big plug-in S-Class beast. The Vision S500 plug-in hybrid that will be shown in Frankfurt next week is a hunking monster of a car. Big to start with, Mercedes adds about 900 pounds of lithium-ion battery and electrical equipment.
This is no ordinary debut. Mercedes is seriously thinking about making some sort of hybrid powerplant standard equipment in the next-generation of the S-Class, due in 2014. As a contender, the payoff for the S500 plug in is 18 miles of uninterrupted all-electric driving before the gas motor kicks in. Miles per gallon?
Depends on how far you make your daily commute. The V-6 is combined with a 44-kilowatt/60 horsepower hybrid module and a lithium-ion battery with more than 10 kilowatts of storage capacity that can be recharged at charging stations. The Vision S500 HYBRID to travel 19 miles on electric power alone. Mercedes has built a Mercedes S Class that can average 73mpg. Not only can it manage economy at a level that would have shamed the smallest of cars just a few years ago, but it can still hustle to 60mph in 5.3 seconds.
"The Vision 500 plug-in hybrid is a new milestone on our path toward zero-emission mobility," says Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler, maker of Mercedes-Benz cars. "It is a luxurious and safe S-Class that offers superior driving performance while at the same time consuming less fuel than current compacts. All of this shows that our top models will also be able to combine automotive fascination with responsibility for the environment."
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