NAPA VALLEY, CA – The 2007 E-Class line is making its on-the-road debut this week. The highly successful full-size E-Class line of sedans and wagons has been restyled for the 2007 model year, and three new models feature an impressively wide range of innovative engine technologies.
New Look for New Models
With a more aggressive front bumper and lower air dam as well as a restyled front grille and headlights, the 2007 E-Class sports a fresh look, which includes more aerodynamic side mirrors as well as a redesigned rear bumper and tail lights.
Inside, the E-Class reveals a new steering wheel and shift lever, a revised layout for the automatic climate control and four new interior colors. New standard equipment includes a glass sunroof, six-disc CD changer and harman/kardon Logic 7 ™ 420 watt premium audio system. In addition, the wagon model now includes a power tailgate.
PRE-SAFE Added to 2007 E-Class
The E-Class line now comes with PRE-SAFE – the breakthrough Mercedes-Benz safety system that made its industry debut several years ago on the larger S-Class line. The world’s first system that can sense and take protective measures before a crash, PRE-SAFE opens an entirely new era in vehicle safety.
The innovative PRE-SAFE system first tensions the seatbelts if the car senses an impending collision. (The system uses resettable electric tensioners in addition to the existing pyrotechnic belt tensioners).
What’s more, if the front passenger seat is overly reclined or forward, PRE-SAFE moves it to a more favorable crash position. If the seat cushion angle of the front passenger seat is too shallow, it is also re-adjusted to help prevent submarining.
Finally, if the vehicle skids (sometimes a precursor to rollover), the system can automatically close the sunroof and side windows. If a crash is averted, the electric belt tensioners automatically relax and are ready to deploy again.
If necessary, PRE-SAFE reacts to fishtailing (or oversteer) as well as “plowing” (or understeer) by using existing sensors for ESP stability control to measure steering angle, vehicle yaw and lateral acceleration. Emergency braking can also trigger PRE-SAFE, which monitors sensors for the Brake Assist system as well. The development of PRE-SAFE was based on the findings of Mercedes-Benz accident researchers, who concluded that about two-thirds of all accidents are preceded by driving events that indicate the possibility of an impending crash, such as skidding, emergency braking or a sudden evasive maneuver – all of which can provide valuable seconds of advance warning before impact.
New V8 Power for the E-Class
While the E350 continues to use the latest four-valve-per-cylinder V6 engine that produces 268 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. of torque, the E500 has been replaced by the E550 model, now powered by a new-generation 32-valve 5.5-liter V8 delivering 382 horsepower and 391 lb.-ft. of torque.
Rounding out the E-Class line, the high-performance E63 AMG replaces the previous E55 AMG model. Marking the debut of the first engine developed entirely by AMG, the E63 AMG is powered by a 6.3-liter naturally aspirated V8 that produces 507 horsepower and 465 lb.-ft. of torque. One of the most powerful naturally aspirated production V8s ever, the new engine boasts a wealth of exciting features derived from AMG’s highly successful racing efforts.
A first for a production engine, the cylinder bores feature a twin-wire-arc-sprayed (TWAS) coating, a new process that results in impressively low friction and running surfaces that are twice as hard as conventional cast-iron cylinders. Built almost completely from a high-strength silicon-aluminum alloy, the new 6.3-liter features four valves per cylinder, variable valve timing, bucket tappets (rather than rocker arms) and a variable intake manifold. The engine shares no parts with other Mercedes-Benz V8 engines.
BLUETEC – A Blueprint for the World’s Cleanest Diesels
The E320 CDI is now the E320 BLUETEC, which combines several technologies to minimize exhaust emissions. BLUETEC is built on a foundation of advanced engine design that includes four valves per cylinder, centrally located piezo-electric injectors, third-generation CDI direct injection, a turbocharger with variable nozzle turbine and exhaust gas recirculation. Central to the E320 BLUETEC is a new 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel engine producing 208 horsepower and 388 lb.-ft. of torque, which replaces the in-line six found in the previous E320 CDI.
Next, the BLUETEC system depends on the use of ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel (less than 15 parts per million) that becomes available throughout the US this fall. Sulfur is a natural element in most mineral oils that has a corrosive effect on engines as well as increasing particulate emissions. The availability of very low-sulfur fuel enables the use of reliable particulate filters and efficient nitrogen-oxide after-treatment.
The E320 BLUETEC incorporates four after-treatment units in the exhaust stream – an oxidizing catalytic converter, a particulate filter, an advanced “denox” storage converter, and a SCR catalytic converter. Called SCR, for selective catalytic reduction, this process creates the most effective method of exhaust gas after-treatment currently available.