Mercedes unveils new engines

By Luke Madden

10th May 2010

Mercedes is out to prove that there's plenty of life in large capacity petrol engines yet. Despite a new trend for hybrids and small capacity turbocharged units, the German firm is going against the grain to concentrate on improving its V6 and V8 engines.

But, these new units have a clear focus on efficiency. With lightweight, low friction materials, direct fuel injection and a multi-spark ignition system, Mercedes has improved combustion to make the most of every drop of fuel. A new auto stop/start set-up, which re-starts the engine in the most efficient way possible has also been added.

All this means that the new 3.5-litre V6 is 24% more economical than the outgoing unit and now puts out 301bhp- an increase of 33bhp. The first vehicle to be fitted with the new V6 will be the S350 later this year which emits just 177g/km of CO2 and returns 37mpg. By comparison, the hybrid set-up in the Lexus GS450h produces 296bhp and 179g/km of CO2.

Mercedes' ageing 5.5-litre V8 is replaced by a new 4.7-litre unit which produces 429bhp- an increase of 47bhp- and is 20%  more fuel efficient than the old engine. The CL500, coming later this year is the first model fitted with the new unit which will allow for emissions of 224g/km of CO2 and a 30mpg economy figure.

Elsewhere, torque has been boosted from 530Nm to 700Nm and is now available from just 1800rpm making the new V8 smoother and more versatile than its predecessor.

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