Autoblog

Mercedes-Benz has taken the wraps off of its first hybrid passenger car, the S400 BlueHYBRID. Based on the S350, this mild hybrid pairs an electric motor/generator and the first lithium-ion battery in a production car with a specially tuned version of the company's 3.5L V6 driving the wheels through a 7-speed automatic transmission. The V6 produces 279 horsepower and can be aided by the electric motor during acceleration with an additional 20 horsepower and 88 lb-ft of torque, giving the drivetrain a combined torque output of 285 lb-ft and what MB calls an electric "boost" effect. Like most hybrids, the S400 features a start-stop function and regenerative braking, but since Mercedes didn't want any interior or trunk space sacrificed for batteries, the S400's special li-ion battery was made small enough to be placed under the hood with the engine. The only evidence you're driving a hybrid while behind the wheel is a special display embedded in the gauge cluster that shows where the energy is flowing at any particular moment. The net result of all this technology is a very large car that sips fuel at the rate of 7.9 liters per 100 kilometers, or what would be around 29 mpg in the U.S. The M-B S400 BlueHYBRID will be available in Europe next summer, and we expect to see it offered elsewhere, including the U.S., not long after.


[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Mercedes-Benz is confusing the blog out of us with its nomenclature. Sure, it's usually pretty straightforward: one letter for the class, three numbers for the (approximate) engine displacement. Tack on 4Matic for all-wheel-drive, chop off a zero and add AMG for the performance models. But they just about lost us on this one.

In Frankfurt Mercedes unveiled two new hybrid versions of the S-Class: the S300 Bluetec Hybrid with diesel-electric power, and the S400 Hybrid with gas-electric power. In Los Angeles, however, they took the wraps off the S400 Bluetec Hybrid. Still with us? Well, they lost us, too. This version packs a V6 diesel coupled with an electric motor to provide 265 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque, resulting in what Mercedes calls V8 performance with four-cylinder economy: 0-60 in 7.2 seconds and 40.5 mpg on the highway.

While the previous S400 Hybrid unveiled in Frankfurt was gas-electric, the S300 Bluetec Hybrid unveiled with it was stated as producing 413 lb-ft of torque to this S400 Bluetec Hybrid's stated 465. Still, the press materials didn't specifically differentiate it from its Frankfurt-revealed stablemate, and nobody at the Mercedes booth here in LA could tell us if this was actually a different model. Think you can make sense of it? The press release is after the jump.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]