Mercedes-Benz reveals full details on ESF 2009 safety prototype vehicle

Mercedes-Benz is introducing its first Experimental model in 35 years, the ESF 2009 S400 Hybrid experimental Safety Vehicle. The last time Mercedes outfitted an ESF - the German acronym for Experimental Safety Vehicle - prototype was 1974. The new model will be revealed as part of the Mercedes-Benz Museum's Fascination of Technology exhibit.

The new ESF is based on the S 400 Hybrid. Fitted with 13 of Mercedes-Benz's most advanced technologies, from the S400 Hybrid powertrain to the Pre-Safe crash-detection system, center seat airbags and inflatable metal bracing structures, the ESF 2009 showcases almost everything Mercedes is capable of in the field of safety technology.

"Even in economically difficult times, we refuse to make any cuts where innovation is concerned, as shown by the highly complex ESF2009 project, where we have chosen this particular time to clearly demonstrate the innovative strength of Daimler and Mercedes-Benz. Anybody examining the ESF2009 in detail will recognize that more safety and less fuel consumption are not necessarily a contradiction in terms. We want to make progress in both fields with new, trailblazing ideas," said Daimler Chairman and Mercedes-Benz CEO Dr. Dieter Zetsche.

The most outlandish features - the under-car airbag brakes, dubbed Braking Bag, and inflatable metal structures, called Pre-Safe Structure - are actually more realistic than they seem at first blush. The inflatable crash structures allow for lighter-weight and more compact construction to be used, then inflated and stiffened in the moments before impact with high-pressure air. The airbag brakes use the same function to slam a braking system into the ground, hugely increasing the surface area of friction forces to slow the car.

For those worried about the Braking Bag's effect on steering, fear not: it will only deploy once the on-board Pre-Safe computers have determined a collision is inevitable. Of course, that still doesn't tell us how the system would affect the car's dynamics when the collision occurs in anything but a straight line, but that's the point of such an experimental vehicle, in the end.

Interactive Vehicle Communication is another innovation of the ESF 2009. The IVC system allows cars travelling in opposite directions to communicate with each other in order to warn of upcoming bad weather or road obstacles.

There's also PRE-SAFE Pulse which moves passengers towards the centre of the car by up to 50mm. It does this to reduce the forces acting on their torsos during a lateral collision. The other safety piece is the partial LED main beam which specifically illuminates potential hazards that are detected to be outside of the normal illuminated area.

According to Mercedes, 'most' of the technologies on the ESF 2009 demonstration prototype are fully functional. Full details and specifications for the super-safe exhibition car will be forthcoming later this month.