Mercedes-Benz Vision GL320 BLUETEC Concept
Mercedes-Benz innovation: from diesel to BLUETEC:
BLUETEC ? the technology for the cleanest diesel in the world
Detroit,
Jan 08, 2006 Mercedes-Benz is launching a unique initiative at the NAIAS 2006
in Detroit. The Stuttgart-based manufacturer with the world's longest diesel tradition
is unveiling two vehicles that pave the way for an all-new diesel vehicle genera-tion:
the E 320 BLUETEC and the Vision GL 320 BLUETEC. Mercedes-Benz has modified specific
aspects of the economical, powerful and robust 320 CDI en-gine, adding state-of-the-art
emission-control technology to make it the cleanest diesel in the world. Mercedes-Benz
has thus transformed the diesel engine into a clean and future-compatible system.
That system is called BLUETEC.
Offering its customers the very best
has become something of a maxim at Mer-cedes Benz, not least when it comes to
designing and constructing vehicles. This is especially true in the case of diesel,
a drive technology which now accounts for more than 50 percent of the European
market thanks mainly to the fact that it offers excellent economy, longevity and
robustness without compromising on driving enjoyment. Economically state-of-the-art
diesel vehicles from Mercedes-Benz are one answer to the unstoppable rise in fuel
prices, including in the US.
Now, the brand's innovative BLUETEC technology
makes the already economical diesel alternative cleaner than ever before. Mercedes-Benz
was the first to implement Rudolf Diesel's combustion principle in a passenger
car engine some 70 years ago. This technology is far more efficient than the gasoline
engine and has been optimized over a period of many years.
One innova-tion
in particular ? the common-rail direct injection system in conjunction with four
valves per cylinder introduced in 1997 ? has had a major impact on the development
of the modern diesel engine. Since then, the abbreviation CDI has come to stand
for unsurpassed fuel economy and a major boost in torque ? which means it has
better pulling power and is more fun to drive, meaning that diesel vehicles are
often superior to similarly powered gasoline models. If diesel models previously
had any disadvantages compared to their gasoline counter-parts, then these related
to specific diesel emissions, especially particulate matter and nitrogen oxides.
However, since the introduction of the maintenance-free particulate
filter for its diesel passenger cars in autumn 2003, Mercedes-Benz has also brought
about a substantial reduction in particulate matter. And although it has succeeded
in cutting nitrogen oxide emissions by some 75 percent through engine modifications
alone in the past 15 years, Mercedes-Benz wants to go even further still.
The objectives are clear: innovative exhaust gas aftertreatment methods give
Mercedes Benz diesel engines the potential to comply with the world's most stringent
emission standards and to be available in all 50 US states. In other words, Mercedes
Benz will be able to offer the cleanest diesel in the world in every vehicle category.
BLUETEC is the name for this new generation of high-tech diesel drives that will
initially be launched in the US.
Today's Mercedes-Benz diesel engines
also stand for agility, sportiness and reliability, as demonstrated before a world
public last spring when three standard-specification E 320 CDI models broke a
clutch of impressive records in Laredo (Texas). For one, a new average speed record
of 224.823 km/h (139.699 mph) was set in a 30-day endur-ance test covering over
100,000 miles (160,934 km). These vehicles were also fitted with a sophisticated
emission-control system, including a standard-specification main-tenance-free
particulate filter. This meant that they were easily able to undercut the currently
applicable EU 4 emission limits ? a feat confirmed in the tests conducted by the
TÜ– (German technical inspection authority) following the grueling record-breaking
drives.
The first BLUETEC vehicles available to customers in the US will
be E 320 BLUETEC models, due for launch in autumn 2006. As well as delivering
renowned economy, performance and reliability, these models comply with the world's
most stringent emission standards.
Diesel has never been cleaner ? thanks
to BLUETEC
The world's most stringent nitrogen oxide limits ? set by
the US 50-state emissions standard ? are just the type of challenge on which Mercedes-Benz
thrives. The solution to this challenge is BLUETEC, a new generation of high-tech
diesel systems which are the cleanest in the world in every vehicle category.
Mercedes-Benz is launching the BLUETEC initiative at the Detroit Motor Show.
In addition to the world premiere of the brand new Mercedes-Benz GL-Class ? a
full-size SUV ? the company is also presenting the GL 320 BLUETEC, a further vision
for the future of diesel engines. With this latest concept vehicle, the Stuttgart-based
car manufacturer proves that it is possible to combine excellent fuel economy
and minimal emissions in every vehicle category, including full-size SUVs. The
Vision GL 320 BLUETEC has a V6 diesel engine developing 155 kW/211 hp and 540
Nm torque. With this performance the expected consumption is 9.4 l/100 km (25
mpg). It is the most economical full-size SUV in the US, offer-ing a fuel saving
of between 20 and 40 percent compared to gasoline engines with equal power rating.
Low-sulfur diesel fuel helps to reduce emissions
By the
time the BLUETEC generation is launched in the US in autumn 2006, low-sulfur diesel
with a maximum sulfur content of 15 ppm will be available, thus reduc-ing the
previous upper limit of 500 ppm by a factor of 33. The US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has therefore laid the foundations for establishing sophisticated,
fuel-efficient diesel vehicles in the US. This will result in a dramatic and immediate
reduction in the emissions of all diesel vehicles in the US, representing a major
step towards cutting emission levels in general. Sulfur, which occurs in mineral
oil to varying degrees, has a corrosive effect in the engine as well as being
a major cause of particulate matter. The introduction of a low-sulfur diesel fuel
will enable the use of particulate filters and efficient nitrogen oxide aftertreatment.
BLUETEC ? leading-edge drive system for the US
High torque
and pulling power even at low engine speeds, impressive range and economic efficiency
are decisive factors in the buying decisions of most motorists, including those
in the US. Vehicles equipped with sophisticated diesel engines made by Mercedes-Benz
are ideal for fulfilling these criteria, since they minimize fuel consumption
while maximizing torque, range and driving enjoyment. In addition, they are extremely
robust. Accompanied by innovative BLUETEC technology, this power-train has the
potential to fulfill even the most stringent of emission requirements world-wide
and specifically, in all 50 US states. Furthermore, it is ideally suited to the
vehicle genres that are popular in the US such as large luxury sedans, SUVs, mini-vans,
trucks and pickups. In addition, diesel really comes into its own in the traffic
conditions that prevail in the US; steady cruising speeds on highways and long
city-to-city distances.
This is even more important in a global situation
in which energy and crude oil costs are expected to rise over the longer term.
Diesel engines consume between 20 and 40 percent less fuel than their gasoline
counterparts. In Western Europe, where fuel prices are double what they are in
the US, a large number of motorists have already made the switch. More than half
of European customers now opt for diesel passenger cars. As fuel prices continue
to rise in the US over the longer term, fuel economy will become a more important
criterion when buying a new car. This is why analysts ex-pect demand for clean
diesel drive systems such as Mercedes-Benz BLUETEC to increase in the US, as in
other countries. J.D. Power and Associates, a leading market research institute,
forecasts that the market share for diesel passenger cars in the US, which currently
stands at around 3.4 percent, will quadruple by the year 2015. Mercedes-Benz is
convinced that, once BLUETEC technology has established itself, this forecast
will appear conservative rather than optimistic.
Customers who opt for
diesel models are especially appreciative of their excellent fuel consumption
figures in real day-to-day driving conditions, which are very close to and sometimes
even better than the officially quoted fuel consumption figures. One example of
this was seen in a long-distance coast-to-coast fuel consumption test involving
a Mercedes-Benz ML 320 CDI, carried out in the US by a German car magazine. On
the route from New York to San Francisco, the all-wheel drive SUV consumed an
average of just 9.2 liters per 100 km (equivalent to 25.6 mpg).
Diesel
vehicles reduce dependence on oil imports
BLUETEC is not just the cleanest
diesel technology in the world. It also ensures low fuel consumption in real terms,
helping customers to make tangible fuel savings and, therefore, reducing the economy's
dependence on oil imports. In the US, where there are concerns about ensuring
fuel supplies over the longer term, this technology is set to play a key role,
especially when one considers the fuel consumption advantages for the extremely
popular SUVs and pickups (light trucks) which, as it stands, are pre-dominantly
powered by large-displacement V8 gasoline engines.
Margo Oge, Head of
the Office of Transportation and Air Quality at the US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) presented the following figures back in March 2004: "If we had a
light duty vehicle population that was one third diesels, that could save up to
1.4 million barrels of oil per day in the US, the amount of oil the US currently
imports from Saudi Arabia. If we made these vehicles diesel hybrids, the oil savings
would about double or up to 2 times the amount of oil Saudi Arabia ships to the
US every day."
BLUETEC ? the emission-control technology from Mercedes-Benz
The Mercedes-Benz development engineers have been advancing emission-control
solutions for a number of years, one of the main aims being to ensure compliance
with future emission standards in the US, Europe and Asia. One focus of these
activities is devising effective and economical methods for reducing nitrogen
oxides ("denoxing"). This technology for the cleanest diesel in the world is called
BLUETEC.
In order to bring together all these technologies within a single,
appropriate package, Mercedes-Benz is following a graduated plan that includes
the following phases:
Optimization of the engines and their combustion processes
to minimize untreated emissions. This includes electronic engine management, four
valves per cylinder, third-generation common-rail direct injection with piezoelectric
injectors, a turbocharger with variable nozzle turbine and exhaust gas recirculation.
Oxidizing catalytic converters to minimize emissions of carbon monoxide (CO)
and unburned hydrocarbons (HC).
The particulate filter, fitted as standard
in all Mercedes-Benz diesel cars in many countries since summer 2005, reduces
particulate emissions by as much as 98 percent, thus easily undercutting even
the current EU 4 particulate limits (0.025 g/km). This technology also ensures
compliance with the US limits currently in force.
Nitrogen oxides ? whose
concentration is higher than in the exhaust gases of gasoline engines due to the
specific combustion process in diesel engines ? are reduced to such an extent
that even the world's most stringent exhaust gas limits can be complied with.
Here the so-called BLUETEC technology is utilised. This reduction is achieved
either with an advanced DeNOx storage catalytic converter, available in the E
320 BLUETEC from autumn 2006, or with the more complex but even more effective
AdBlue injection. This, combined with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) creates
the most effective method of exhaust gas aftertreatment currently available. This
enables nitrogen oxide levels to be reduced by up to 80 percent. The Mercedes
Benz engineers will be show-casing the combination with AdBlue injection in the
Vision GL 320 BLUETEC at the Detroit show and are developing the process for use
as a standard system in passenger cars.
The SCR process is based on the
injection of the reducing agent AdBlue into the exhaust gas stream. AdBlue is
an aqueous urea solution that is carried in a separate tank. Since an average
of around 0.1 liters per 100 km (2352.15 mpg or 1 to 3 percent of diesel consumption)
is all that is required, the tank can be designed so that it only needs to be
refilled when service staff are carrying out regular, scheduled mainte-nance.
When AdBlue is injected into the pre-cleaned exhaust gas, ammonia (NH3) is released,
causing the nitrogen oxides to be converted into harmless nitrogen (and water)
in a downstream catalytic converter. The decisive factor in ensuring that the
catalytic converter works extremely efficiently is precise metering in line with
the current engine operating state. Choosing which technological solution to use
depends both on the vehicle concept concerned and on the required "denoxing" rate.
BLUETEC already a success in commercial vehicles
However, BLUETEC
technology is not altogether new as, in Europe, it has already been employed extremely
effectively in Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles with a GVW above six tonnes.
This technology has proved a resounding success in more than 10,000 vehicles such
as the Actros, Axor and Atego trucks. In this case, BLUETEC reduces the nitrogen
oxide levels considerably, meaning that these vehicles already comply with the
emission standards due to come into force for trucks from 2009. In Europe the
AdBlue supply network already comprises some 1,500 filling points.
End of
Mercedes-Benz Vision GL320 BLUETEC Concept review.
The GL450 made its North
American debut at the Detroit show and was joined by a diesel version, the GL320
BlueTec. The GL320 diesel goes on sale this fall and provides a Mercedes-Benz
claimed average of 26 mpg. With 221 horsepower the GL320 BlueTec should have enough
power to move the large SUV with some authority. Unlike the identical 3.0-liter
V-6 engine in the E320 BlueTec, the GL320 BlueTec will not have a particulate
trap but will instead employ urea injection (yes, that's the same urea that's
in urine) to reduce emissions. Mercedes is working on getting the diesel GL and
a diesel ML into showrooms before the year's end. Also, the new engine will pass
stringent 2007 diesel emission standards and will be available in all 50 states.
