2001 Mercedes-benz Slk320 Base Convertible 2-door 3.2l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mercedes-Benz engines with 48-volt systems coming in 2017

As part of a big green push announced yesterday, Mercedes-Benz is jumping into the world of 48-volt power. The company will launch a new family of efficient gasoline engines next year and will begin rolling out 48-volt systems with it, likely in its more expensive cars first. Mercedes will use the 48-volt systems to power mild-hybrid functions like energy recuperation (commonly called brake regeneration), engine stop-start, electric boost, and even moving a car from a stop on electric power alone. These features will be enabled through either an integrated starter-generator (Mercedes abbreviates it ISG) or a belt-driven generator (RSG). (RSG is from the German word for belt-driven generator, Riemenstartergeneratoren. That's your language lesson for the day.) Mercedes didn't offer many other details on the new family of engines. There are 48-volt systems already in production; Audi's three-compressor SQ7 engine uses an electric supercharger run by a 48-volt system, and there's a new SQ5 diesel on the horizon that will use a similar setup with the medium-voltage system. Electric superchargers require a lot of juice, which can be fed by either a supercapacitor or batteries in a 48-volt system. Why 48-volt Matters: Current hybrid and battery-electric vehicles make use of very high voltages in their batteries, motors, and the wiring that connects them, usually around 200 to 600 volts. The high voltage gives them enough power to move a big vehicle, but it also creates safety issues. The way to mitigate those safety issues is with added equipment, and that increases both cost and weight. You can see where this is going. By switching to a 48-volt system, the high-voltage issues go away and the electrical architecture benefits from four times the voltage of a normal vehicle system and uses the same current, providing four times the power. The electrical architecture will cost more than a 12-volt system but less than the complex and more dangerous systems in current electrified vehicles. The added cost makes sense now because automakers are running out of ways to wisely spend money for efficiency gains. Cars can retain a cheaper 12-volt battery for lower-power accessories and run the high-draw systems on the 48-volt circuit. The industry is moving toward 48-volt power, with the SAE working on a standard for the systems and Delphi claiming a 10-percent increase in fuel economy for cars that make the switch.

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff takes a stake in Aston Martin

LONDON — Mercedes Formula One boss Toto Wolff has taken a stake in British sportscar maker Aston Martin, whose executive chairman Lawrence Stroll runs the Racing Point F1 team, according to company filings. A Mercedes F1 spokesman said Wolff's move was purely an investment on the Austrian's part and would be diluted by a rights issue on Monday from 4.77% to less than 1%. "Fully diluted following the pending rights issue, this investment will represent a 0.95% stake in the company," he added. "It is a financial investment and Toto's partnership and executive role with Mercedes are unaffected by the transaction." Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli has also bought a 3.38% stake which will be similarly diluted. Wolff previously had a 16% shareholding in former champions Williams but sold that after he joined the Mercedes team, where he serves as principal and owns 30%. Canadian billionaire Stroll, whose son Lance drives for Racing Point alongside Mexican Sergio Perez, is close to Wolff. The Silverstone-based team — to be renamed Aston Martin next year — use Mercedes engines and gearboxes. Mercedes-Benz's parent Daimler also has a small stake in Aston Martin. "It's clear that Aston are now Mercedes' B team," the Daily Mail quoted one Formula One insider as saying. Wolff's future at Mercedes has been the subject of some media speculation, with the 48-year-old linked variously to senior management roles with Liberty Media-owned Formula One and at Aston Martin. His Aston Martin shares were bought from Yew Tree Overseas Limited, a vehicle controlled by Stroll who acquired a roughly 25% percent holding in Aston Martin with a consortium of investors. Mercedes have won the past six Formula One drivers' and constructors' titles but have six times world champion Lewis Hamilton out of contract at the end of the 2020 season, which has yet to start due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hamilton, who has also been linked to Ferrari, had told reporters before the global crisis changed the sporting and financial landscape that his decision would depend on Wolff's plans. The Briton is now expected to stay at Mercedes, with a radical overhaul of Formula One's sporting and technical regulations postponed to 2022. Related Video: Motorsports Aston Martin Mercedes-Benz

Recharge Wrap-up: Nissan reveals GT-R LM Nismo, NRG plans eVgo expansion

Nissan has officially revealed the GT-R LM Nismo LMP1 car. The hybrid Le Mans racer uses a biturbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 up front to power the front wheels, plus a kinetic energy recovery system for an extra boost. Football fans likely caught a glimpse of the car in Nissan's With Dad commercial that aired during the Super Bowl, but the company has a couple more videos that show the car off quite well provided below. "This is innovation that excites," Says Nismo president Shoichi Miyatani. "Sustainability is at the top of our agenda, and the technical regulations for Le Mans give us the freedom to pursue new ideas in this area." Read more at Green Car Congress, or in the press release below. The NRG eVgo charging network now operates 120 DC fast charging stations in California. 60 of those are "Freedom Stations," offering both CHAdeMO and CCS charging cables, and 52 more of these are in the works. NRG plans to expand the eVgo network to 25 US markets in the next two years (up from the current 10), including chargers in Tennessee, as well as linking cities along the near entirety of the East and West coasts. Read more at Green Car Reports. Tesla has opened its 20th Supercharger station in the UK. The company says it will offer full UK coverage by the end of 2015. As of now, the Supercharger network extends as far north as Edinburgh, southwest to Exeter, and to Maidstone in the southeast, which is just up the road from access to mainland Europe through the English Channel Tunnel. Tesla operates more than 1,600 Superchargers worldwide at over 300 stations, with 129 stations and more than 670 Superchargers in Europe. Read more at Hybrid Cars. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Nissan reveals Le Mans challenger during Super Bowl - First glimpse of race-ready Nissan GT-R LM NISMO during Super Bowl XLIX - Innovative new LM P1 racing car is like no other Le Mans car - TAG Heuer, Motul and Michelin revealed as Nissan LM P1 partners YOKOHAMA, Japan Í– Nissan today declared itself ready to take on the world's best sports car manufacturers after revealing a glimpse of its Le Mans challenger – the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO – during the commercial break for Super Bowl XLIX. Last year's Super Bowl was the most watched television program in U.S. television history with over 110 million viewers.