Mercedes set to debut S-Class ESF safety concept with more airbags than a balloon shop
Mercedes-Benz ESF 2009 concept – Click above for image gallery
An inordinate number of the safety features that we now find commonplace in roadgoing automobiles made their debut in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. So where better to look for the next generation of safety technology? You guessed it.
To that end, Mercedes is slated to unveil a concept S-Class to showcase the safety features it is working on next. The ESF 2009 Concept is based on the S400 Hybrid – as if to show that "green" and "safe" can co-exist – and it comes packed with a bunch of new airbags. There's a new curtain airbag in between the seats (you know, so you don't butt heads), airbags in the seatbelts themselves, and perhaps the most innovative feature, a giant airbag underneath the vehicle that inflates in the case of an imminent crash, adding friction to help the car decelerate and lifting the front of the car a bit to compensate for brake dive. That last part worries us a little, as it strikes us that it could hinder any attempt to steer away from the crash, but for the time being we'll trust that Mercedes knows what it's doing. There are also seat bolsters that can move the occupants a couple of inches away from the doors in case of a side impact, metal beams that can actually inflate – thereby cutting weight and saving space on impact beams – and reflective tires.
With the airbag count rising rapidly, a potential crash is looking more expensive by the day, but Mercedes seems to revel in the "how can you put a price on safety?" approach. Stay tuned for more information, and check out the images in the gallery below in the meantime.
Gallery: Mercedes-Benz ESF 2009 concept
[Sources: Autocar and eMercedes-Benz]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jsams4131 2:11PM (6/09/2009)
haha great title...they should just quit beating around the bush and just go ahead and put ejection seats in their future cars...it seems only logical to get go to the next level than adding more bags..
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jayho25 2:12PM (6/09/2009)
Of course the front under airbag will not lift the front wheels off the ground. it's just keeping the front bumber at the proper impact height.
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ack154 2:13PM (6/09/2009)
So when do we just give up and move on to the safety foam-ish stuff like in Demolition Man?
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Duke 2:48PM (6/09/2009)
That's exactly what I was thinking. Get off your butt Mercedes and give us foam filled cars!
Azael 2:13PM (6/09/2009)
I think they should add an airbag to the steering wheel airbag. I hear the steering wheel airbags hit the driver pretty hard, but if there was an additional airbag to soften the blow of the main airbag it could reduce injury and thus be safer.
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Rocketboy 4:46PM (6/09/2009)
Yo Dog, I haerd you like Airbags, so I put Airbags on your Airbags.
Azael 5:35PM (6/09/2009)
Word, homie, word.
Joe K. 2:22PM (6/09/2009)
Next they'll place a pony in the trunk so that you can make it to work after the accident with 'Acceptable and minimal delay.'
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Joe K. 2:25PM (6/09/2009)
Let's think outside of the box here Mercedes. Make everyone wear an airbag suit to ride in. Then the airbag will encompass the occupant and anything they hit, rather than cover everything in airbags. Bonus, you can patent it and make it compatible with all cars... No need to retrofit anything. Plus its far cheaper to replace if it is every used...
Just saying...
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Level 2:31PM (6/09/2009)
How about an Air bag for my Air bag? Or since we can't put a price on safety then why don't we just stop driving at all and just walk??
Gadgets are good to have and all but the best safety feature to have is a good driver period.
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Hamud 2:42PM (6/09/2009)
Don't know about the underneath airbag, have to see how it works in real situations. The airbags between the seat and on the seat belts are great features.
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The Real Zam 2:45PM (6/09/2009)
How about more airbags than Beverly Hills? Or more airbags than a porn conventinon? Or more airbags than a colonoscopy office?
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CapnBoost 4:46PM (6/09/2009)
In the event of a water landing, your Mercedes-Benz automobile doubles as a flotation device.
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JDM Life 5:33PM (6/09/2009)
More safety the better.
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Phred 11:47PM (6/09/2009)
Thing about nose-diving under braking - doesn't it increase braking effectiveness by putting more normal force on the front tires? Won't this airbag negate that? It had better giveth more friction that it taketh away.
And yes, I know the point is bumper height. I think stopping distance is probably more important.
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