Mercedes E 350 Gets CGI & E 300 BLUETEC Now for Europe

Mercedes has announced the expansions of its model range in Europe with two new E-Class models. The first model which Mercedes states uses the world's first V6 petrol engine utilizing direct-injection with a spray-guided combustion process is the E 350 CGI. First seen on the CLS 350 CGI in 2006, the piezo-electric injection system generates 215 kW/292 hp which is 20 hp more output and 15 newton-meters more torque (365 Nm) compared to the standard E 350 while consuming ten percent less fuel. Using the NEDC average, the E 350 CGI sedan accelerates from standstill to 100 km/h in 6.8 seconds, consumes 8.7 liters of premium petrol per 100 kilometers and hits an electronically limited maximum speed of 250 km/h. The Mercedes-Benz E 350 CGI is available for order in both sedan and wagon versions.

After the recent launch of the Mercedes-Benz E 320 BLUTEC in limited numbers to California residents, Mercedes now begins its BLUETEC initiative in Europe by offering the “world’s cleanest diesel” technology in the executive class via the E 300 BLUETEC. The 155 kW/211 hp 3.0-liter V6 engine with a massive 540 Nm of torque consumes just 7.2 to 7.5 liters of diesel fuel per hundred kilometers according to the NEDC. The maximum speed of the E 300 BLUETEC is 244 km/h, and zero to 100 km/h is 7.2 seconds. Please see the following press release for further details.

Press Release

Advanced Power: two new E-Class models with pioneering drive systems

Mercedes-Benz is wasting no time in implementing the Road to the Future which it presented at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, and is now offering two new E-Class models to pave the way for a new generation of particularly economical and environmentally friendly diesel and petrol vehicles. Trailblazing BLUETEC technology makes the new E 300 BLUETEC the world's cleanest diesel in its class, while retaining legendary attributes of the CDI engine such as high torque, economy and operating range. At the same time Mercedes-Benz is extending its range of models with the new E 350 CGI, which features second-generation direct petrol injection. This model likewise excels with a favourable fuel consumption and a high performance. Compared to the E 350, the fuel consumption of the innovative V6 engine of the E 350 CGI is lower by around ten percent per hundred kilometres. And with 215 kW/292 hp this unit also makes 20 hp more output available. With these new E-Class models, Mercedes-Benz is once again underlining its aim to offer customers superior, luxurious and safe automobiles with the highest level of environmental compatibility, both now and in the future.

At the International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Mercedes-Benz presented 19 innovative models as part of its "Road to the Future" agenda - a unique and varied range of new, particularly economical and clean models with intelligent drive technologies. In this long-term development strategy for the future, Mercedes-Benz has the declared aim of offering economical and environmentally friendly vehicles without compromising on safety, comfort or driving enjoyment. The focus of this development process is primarily on optimised internal combustion engines.

Just a few weeks after this announcement, Mercedes-Benz is now offering the first new E-Class models to make this ambitious goal a practical reality, while providing an impressive day-to-day experience for all.

E 300 BLUETEC - the cleanest and most economical executive-class diesel

Pole position on the Mercedes-Benz Roadto the Future is taken by the new E 300 BLUETEC. Following the successful launch of the world’s first BLUETEC passenger car in the USA - the E 320 BLUETEC, which is selling very briskly and has been voted "World Green Car of the Year 2007" - Mercedes-Benz is now also offering BLUETEC technology for the world’s cleanest diesel in Europe as well. With immediate effect, the new E 300 BLUETEC is available here as the cleanest and most economical diesel in the executive class.

BLUETEC is a concept based on a number of coordinated technical measures. First of all, in-engine measures minimise the untreated emissions. An oxidising catalytic converter and a particulate filter then ensure effective exhaust gas aftertreatment. The nitrogen oxides are subsequently reduced by BLUETEC technology using a particularly durable NOx storage-type catalytic converter and a special SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) converter. The package as a whole results in exemplary levels for all exhaust gas constituents. BLUETEC technology significantly undercuts the Nox limits of the EU5 standard, and even has the potential to meet the future EU6 standard.

In Europe Mercedes-Benz is offering the new E 300 BLUETEC in parallel with the E 320 CDI, which continues in the range. The slightly lower peak output of the new BLUETEC model - 155 kW/211 hp rather than 165 kW/ 224 hp - results from the measures taken to lower emissions and improve fuel consumption. These improvements include the use of special piezo-electric injectors, a lower compression ratio and specific fine-tuning of the turbocharger and exhaust gas recirculation. The powerful torque of 540 Nm at 1600 - 2400 rpm remains unchanged, and guarantees superior performance with a low fuel consumption and low emissions. The combined consumption of the E 300 BLUETEC according to the NEDC is 7.2 to 7.5 litres of diesel fuel per 100 kilometres.

E 350 CGI with second-generation direct petrol injection

In parallel with the E 300 BLUETEC, Mercedes-Benz is expanding its model range with the E 350 CGI, which features an ultra-modern direct-injection petrol engine with a spray-guided combustion process. This unit, the world’s first V6 petrol engine with this innovative combustion system and piezo-electric injection, was introduced in the CLS 350 CGI in spring 2006 and is now also available for the Saloon and Estate in the high-volume E-Class.

Compared to the E 350, which remains in the range, the 215 kW/292 hp V-engine develops 20 hp more output and 15 newton metres more torque (365 Nm) while consuming ten percent less fuel. On an NEDC average the E 350 CGI Saloon, which accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 6.8 seconds, consumes just 8.7 litres of premium petrol per 100 kilometres. In both model variants the maximum speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h.

The E-Class as a technological trendsetter

The E-Class sets new technical standards, and also features a comprehensive range of safety equipment which includes PRE-SAFE®, the Intelligent Light System, NECK-PRO head restraints and adaptive brake lights. This makes the E-Class the safest car in its class. Agility and driving enjoyment is assured by the DIRECT CONTROL package with a direct steering ratio and a new suspension setup.

Mercedes-Benz starts its BLUETEC initiative in Europe

• One of the world’s most efficient power units
• Emissions already below the European standards of tomorrow

The inventor of BLUETEC technology is entering a new era with the E 300 BLUETEC: following positive experiences in the American market since autumn 2006, particularly environmentally friendly BLUETEC diesel technology is now also available in a passenger car model in Europe. Mercedes-Benz has managed to retain the same, low fuel consumption while achieving a massive reduction in emissions and compliance with the EU5 standard. The intelligent BLUETEC system makes the diesel engine one of the world’s cleanest and most efficient power units.

Environmental compatibility, driving pleasure and comfort are just some of the strengths of the new E 300 BLUETEC Saloon, with which Mercedes-Benz is starting its BLUETEC initiative in the European market. This E-Class with the very latest emissions management is based on the well-proven CDI models, and excels with outstanding ecological, economic and dynamic attributes: the 155 kW/211 hp 3.0-litre V6 engine with a lavish torque of 540 newton metres is happy with just 7.2 to 7.5 litres of diesel fuel per hundred kilometres. Its emission values are already well below the European exhaust emission standards of tomorrow. The maximum speed of the E 300 BLUETEC is 244 km/h, and the sprint from zero to 100 km/h takes just in 7.2 seconds.

These outstanding figures are partly due to the standard 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission, the world’s only car transmission of this type. It features a number of technical innovations which ensure powerful acceleration, more rapid intermediate sprints, a lower fuel consumption and greater gearshifting comfort in conjunction with the ultra-modern engines. Owing to its ratio spread, the seven-speed automatic transmission also provides the ideal conditions for relaxed driving at low engine speeds - perfect for quiet and economical travel.

At the same time the BLUETEC model - like all the models in the E-Class - guarantees typical Mercedes suspension comfort, an almost legendary feel-good atmosphere in the interior and an outstanding level of safety.

Modular BLUETEC concept for clean exhaust gases

BLUETEC technology developed by Mercedes-Benz effectively reduces the emissions of diesel vehicles, and especially nitrogen oxides. The engineers at the Mercedes-Benz Technology Centre pursue various strategies to achieve this.As a first stage, the untreated emissions of the E 300 BLUETEC are reduced as far as possible by in-engine measures which include

• modified electronic engine management,
• a reduced compression ratio of 16.5 : 1,
• the use of special piezo-electric injectors with a lower hydraulic flow rate,
• optimal configuration of the turbocharger, with a variable nozzle turbine,
• improved control of exhaust gas recirculation, with a higher return rate,
• and the use of ceramic glow plugs, which ensure fast cold-starting at a lower compression ratio at all times.

As the second stage, an effective aftertreatment system specially configured for this engine supplements the in-engine modifications. This includes an oxidising catalytic converter, which reduces emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) andunburned hydrocarbons (HC). The third measure is an additive-free diesel particulate filter. This has been standard equipment in all Mercedes-Benz diesel models in many countries since summer2005, and reduces particulate emissions by up to 98 percent. This easily meets both the current EU4 particulate limits (0.025 grams/kilometre) and the future EU5 limits (0.005 grams/kilometre), and also complies with the current USstandard.

As a fourth stage it is necessary to reduce the concentration of nitrogen oxides, which is inherently higher in the untreated emissions of diesel engines then in petrol engines. This is where the technology known as BLUETEC comes into its own. A further development of the storage-type Nox catalytic converter is combined with an SCR catalytic converter and patented onboard generation of ammonia. The Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) process is currently the most effective exhaust gas aftertreatment method known, enabling nitrogen oxides to be reduced by up to 80 percent. The BLUETEC aftertreatment system in the E 300 BLUETEC operates with no additional service fluids.

BLUETEC initiative has already achieved several successes

Mercedes-Benz commenced its BLUETEC passenger car initiative in the USA in October 2006, introducing the world’s only car equipped with this technology, the E 320 BLUETEC. Mercedes-Benz is also the only manufacturer to have met the stringent exhaust emission standards of California - and the other subscribing states - with the E 320 BLUETEC. Mercedes-Benz will be introducing three further V6 BLUETEC models in the GL, M and R-Class in the USA from 2008. This uncompromising commitment has been duly recognised by international motoring journalists, who have voted the E 320 BLUETEC "2007 World Green Car". The jurors from 22 countries honoured BLUETEC as the pacemaker for a new, particularly clean diesel technology.

BLUETEC is also used in commercial vehicles, where this technology has been proving its effectiveness since early 2005 and is now available for all model series. Mercedes-Benz has already delivered more than 60,000 trucks and buses featuring this trailblazing emissions control system.

BLUETEC - helping to reduce CO2

The present discussion about current and future emission limits for automobiles often fails to consider that emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) have nothing to do with conventional exhaust emission standards. The CO2 emissions of a vehicle are in direct relationship to its fuel consumption. Figures such as 140 g of CO2/km are nothing but an alternative way of expressing fuel consumption, and in this case correspond to around 5.3 litres per 100 km for a diesel engine and around 5.9 litres per 100 km for a petrol engine . Vehicles which vent their exhaust gases into the environment unfiltered, without any form of catalytic aftertreatment or reduction in particulates, would also register these values .

In contrast to CO2, exhaust gas constituents such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and particulate combustion residues can be reduced by aftertreatment - sometimes even to the limits of measurability. This is where the innovative, modular aftertreatment system BLUETEC comes into play. It creates the conditions for environmentally compatible operation in diesel vehicles, and will also be able to meet the planned limiting values to be prescribed in the future. In addition to the E 300 BLUETEC, all future BLUETEC models will comply with the Euro-5 standard required from 2011. This makes BLUETEC an important component in the reduction of CO2 emissions.

Current and future limiting values for diesel vehicles in the EU*

	CO (g/km)	NOx (g/km)	HC + NOx (g/km)	Particu-lates (g/km)	No. of particles**
EURO 4 All new vehicles from 1.1.2006	0.50	0.25	0.30	0.025	-
EURO 5 All new vehicles from 1.1.2011	0.50	0.18	0.23	0.005	6.0-1011
EURO 6 All new vehicles from 1.9.2015	0.50	0.08	0.17	0.005	6.0-1011

* Group M1, passenger vehicles with at most eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat, permissible gross vehicle weight up to 2500 kilograms, test procedure NEDC 2000.

**New measuring procedure; all new vehicles from 1.1.2013

More performance and lower fuel consumption

• High-pressure petrol injection at 200 bar
• Fast piezo-electric injectors for precise mixture formation
• "Lean", economical stratified charge even at high speeds
• Considerably reduced exhaust emissions

In the E-Class too, Mercedes-Benz is now presenting the world’s first petrol engine with spray-guided direct injection. A favourable fuel consumption and powerful performance characteristics are by no means contradictory for this direct-injection petrol engine from Mercedes-Benz. On the contrary, with an output of 215 kW/292 hp the six-cylinder unit delivers 15 kW/20 hp more than the V6 with conventional injection technology, as well as four percent more torque. At the same time, compared to the highly efficient V6 petrol engine with port injection and fully variable valve control, Mercedes-Benz has achieved a further fuel saving of around ten percent according to NEDC. The E 350 CGI consumes 8.7 to 9.2 litres (Estate: 8.9 – 9.4 litres) per 100 kilometres. This means that for all its outstanding economy, the V6 engine delivers a superior driving experience which is unprecedented in the six-cylinder class: the E 350 CGI takes only 6.8 seconds (Estate: 7.0 seconds) to accelerate from zero to 100 km/h, and is capable of a top speed of 250 km/h (electronically limited).

Key figures for the new CGI engine at a glance:

• Displacement 3498 cc, compression ratio 12.2 : 1
• Output 215 kW/292 hp at 6400 rpm
• Maximum torque 365 newton metres at 3000 to 5100 rpm

The trailblazing injection system, with which the Stuttgartbrand is once again asserting its role as a technological trendsetter, ensures far superior fuel utilisation and therefore a higher thermodynamic efficiency than the previous, wall-guided direct injection. The new Mercedes engine consumes the fuel almost completely, which also means fewer emissions. The result is a superior driving experience with outstanding economy. This new concept will provide the basis for future engine developments in this performance class.

Trailblazing technology: fast and highly precise piezo-electric injectors

The key components of this innovative, spray-guided direct petrol injection system are fast, highly precise piezo-electric injectors. Their invention has given rise to practically every advance in spray-guided combustion technology.

The developers of the direct petrol injection unit have made even greater use of the positive attributes of piezo-ceramics for the CGI engine, namely high performance and speed. In contrast to a diesel injector, where the actuator only operates a valve, the piezo-module of the petrol unit controls the needle directly. The piezo-stroke is therefore directly translated into a needle stroke, thereby determining the valve flow. This direct operation allows intermediate stroke settings, and charge adjustment at the piezo-actuator also ensures a constant fuel flow throughout the operating period. Thanks to its extremely uniform stroke characteristics, piezo-technology also produces a highly reproducible spray formation  a major precondition for effective control of the combustion process.

Always a uniform, perfectly formed jet of fuel

The developers of the new direct petrol injection engine devoted painstaking attention to the shape of the fuel jet. This was perfected using an innovative nozzle tip which opens outwards during each injection cycle, allowing the fuel through an annular aperture measuring only a few micrometres. The spray is formed by the contours of the aperture and the nozzle. The result is a uniform, hollow-based cone of fuel under all operating conditions, which also retains its shape when the electronic engine management system alters the angle of the intake camshafts or the length of the intake ducts when high performance is required.

The mixture formation itself is just as important. A swirl effect at the edges and within the cone of fuel sucks air particles into the fuel jet, ensuring a fuel/air mixture with optimal ignition characteristics.

Thanks to response times measuring fractions of a millisecond, the piezo-electric injectors also allow the multiple injections per power stroke that are necessary for lean-burn operation, and provide an important precondition for the engine’s exemplary fuel consumption with this flexible and highly efficient control of the combustion process. This is because they inject the fuel into the combustion chambers several times in succession during each power stroke, thereby significantly improving the mixture formation and ignition characteristics. Combustion is faster, more uniform and more complete than after single injection - which means that the thermodynamic efficiency of the engine is greatly improved and untreated emissions (hydrocarbons) are reduced by more than half.

Pistons with specially formed crowns optimised in flow simulations assist the injection process by holding the lean mixture together at the ignition point, preventing it from spreading towards the cylinder walls. In this way the piston shape makes a further contribution to almost complete fuel combustion, and therefore the favourable fuel consumption and emission levels of the direct-injection petrol engine.

High-pressure fuel injection

The high injection pressure of 200 bar also plays an important part in the constant stability of the fuel jet. To achieve this, the injection system of the new Mercedes V6 engine is similar to that of a modern diesel engine with common-rail technology. Its centrepiece is a newly developed high-pressure pump, which distributes the fuel to the two stainless steel rails on the cylinder banks as required. The piezo-electric injectors are mounted on these.

This system exceeds the fuel injection pressure of a conventional port injection system by around 50 times. The pump delivers fuel to the rails during every other injection cycle, building up maximum pressure. As the fuel is delivered in this way, there is a slight, cyclical fall in pressure during every other injection cycle, however the mean pressure for all the injectors remains around 200 bar. A volume control valve ensures that only the fuel quantity required for the engine’s current operating point is delivered, which reduces the output demanded of the high-pressure pump as required.

Surplus fuel flows back via a water heat-exchanger and mixes with the fuel flowing from the tank of the E 350 CGI. The low-temperature water circuit of the injection system also cools the electronic control unit of the direct-injection petrol engine, which manages all the operating processes of the V6.

Spark plugs perfectly placed at the edge of the fuel/air mixture

Finding the right location for the spark plugs was another challenge which required sophisticated flow calculations and tests. To ensure that the ignition spark performs rapidly and reliably, the spark plug must reach the fuel/air mix but have no direct contact with the liquid fuel, otherwise carbon deposits will build up over time.

To meet both requirements, the piezo-electric injector of the CGI engine projects into the middle of the combustion chamber, i.e. roughly in the position occupied by the spark plug in a port injection engine. The spark plug has been moved closer to the exhaust valves, where it can reach and ignite the combustible mixture at the edge of the swirling fuel/air cone. A cross-flow cooling system in the cylinder head ensures that the spark plugs and injectors always operate within the best possible temperature range.

Stratified charging even at higher loads and engine speeds

The exemplary fuel economy of the direct-injection petrol engine is in large part due to the use of stratified charging. This means that the engine operates with a high compression ratio and a very lean mixture, and therefore very economically. The fuel is injected into the air compressed by the piston at a relatively late stage.

Thanks to multiple injection, this "lean-burn" operation of the CGI engine from Mercedes-Benz has also become possible at higher engine speeds and under higher load conditions: during each power stroke the combustion chambers are supplied with fuel several times in succession within fractions of a second, significantly improving mixture formation, combustion and fuel consumption. The advantages of stratified charging could previously only be exploited under low partial load conditions, but the V6 unit in the new E 350 CGI still operates in "lean" mode at speeds in excess of 120 km/h, only switching to so-called homogeneous mode with a fuel/air ratio of 1:14.6 (lambda = 1) at a later stage. With an anticipatory style of driving and at a roughly constant speed, the CGI engine of the E 350 CGI betters the fuel consumption of the six-cylinder engine with conventional injection technology by up to 1 litre per 100 kilometres on country roads and motorways. This corresponds to a fuel saving of up to ten percent.

Dual effect: low untreated emissions and high exhaust temperatures

The combustion process developed by Mercedes engineers, with several injection pulses in rapid succession per power stroke, also benefits the smooth running characteristics and exhaust emissions of the V6 engine. Measurements have shown that untreated emissions (hydrocarbons) are reduced by more than half during the warm-up phase. Precisely controlled injection and combustion also allows higher temperatures to be achieved in the exhaust manifold, which ensures that the catalytic converters reach their best operating temperature more rapidly. The direct-injection petrol engine reaches an exhaust temperature of more than 700 degrees Celsius just eleven seconds after a cold start. Exhaust gas aftertreatment is by two close-coupled, closed-loop catalytic converters with linear lambda control which comes into operation immediately after cold-starting.

Mercedes-Benz reduces nitrogen oxide emissions in two ways: with an electrically controlled, cooled, twin-pipe exhaust gas recirculation system, which returns up to 40 percent of the exhaust gases to the cylinders depending on the engine’s operating point, and by two underbody Nox storage-type catalytic converters. During lean-burn operation these converters absorb the nitrogen oxides and release them during brief regeneration phases, so that these pollutants react with the other exhaust gas constituents to produce harmless nitrogen. Sensors located upstream and downstream of the catalytic converters monitor their operation.

Otherwise the new CGI engine is equipped with the same, unique high-tech package as its opposite number with conventional petrol injection. This includes four-valve technology, variable camshaft adjustment for the intake and exhaust sides, a two-stage intake duct, a balancer shaft and intelligent heat management with a logic-controlled thermostat. The crankcase and cylinder head of the six-cylinder unit are made of aluminium, while the cylinders feature liners in low-friction, dimensionally stable and lightweight aluminium-silicon technology. All the fuel supply components of the CGI engine are of stainless steel or brass; the rails on the two banks of cylinders and the housing of the high-pressure pump are of forged stainless steel.

The new E 350 CGI operates on sulphur-free premium petrol, and has the potential to meet future exhaust emission standards thanks to its state-of-the-art technology.