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so far we have already clocked up roughly12 million kilometres. because of the complex technology, a total of almost 1,000 vehicles, consisting of aggregate carriers and test vehicles, have been on the road. i have heard that this model series is thefirst to be developed without hand-made prototypes. exactly, the first phase was omitted. this vehicle was practically developed digitally. there were a few chassis for crash testing, but no truly driveable vehicles were built during the prototype phase. the first vehicles were actually built to be driven, namely when we had the parts. now we are carrying out production testing and from a mechanical aspect the vehicles here are suitable for customers. however, we are still working on the electrical system. but all of the mechanical elements, suspension, chassis and body have reached series-production standard.
so work is still being done on the maturity of the software for airmatic, distronic or lights? exactly. …infotainment and so forth. everything flashable and related to the software is almost market-ready. and this is essential because we have to put the latest and greatest assistance systems on the road. everything apart from the software has reached series-production standard. that was the premise to arrive at this point now. we only wanted to carry out testing using a current and representative hardware version. new software updates are made weekly and tested by our night and endurance test drivers. the endurance testers?
the endurance testers take the vehicles out at night, drive the necessary kilometres and test the functions. it is no longer a matter of mileage. now it is more a matter of functional depth that is why we have reduced the number of kilometres and carry out more in-depth functional tests. perhaps another exciting question: i have heard that the vehicle has a completely new electronics architecture. the vehicle belongs to the families between the new c-class and the new s-class but features a completely different electronic circuitry. that's right. we have developed a completely new electronics architecture, known as the "start 2.3 architecture" at mercedes in order to implement the assistance systems. this makes it possible to operate assistance systems in future series and model updates. we could not use the old electronics architectures to run the assistance systems in the way they can be operated on this vehicle.
new bus systems and new sensors are the key elements. this enables us to process far more data significantly more quickly. can you say how much longer the new vehicle is? the vehicle is considerably longer here you can see that the front axle has been moved forward from the driver. we can say about this much. the front section alone is 50 mm longer. this gives the vehicle a wonderfully long wheelbase, good driving stability and also a sporty look. yes. we have shortened the rear; this means we have made the wheels larger. you can see this here immediately
we now have a 30 mm greater wheel diameter. this means our entire wheel is considerably larger. that definitely gives it a very harmonious appearance. precisely. this initially meant that we had to move the wheel a little further to the rear with respect to the passengers. at the same time we also wanted a sporty vehicle, which is why we shortened the rear section. we have much less of a panel area around the rear wheel than at the front. the proportions have changed significantly. i am very excited by this and suggest we take a drive to see just what the vehicle has to offer. let's go! absolutely. you can join me. unfortunately, you are not allowed to drive it yet. unfortunately, not yet. i may have to wait until april. but we are very excited about this.
yes, perhaps until march – we'll see. here we can see the exclusive variant, previously elegance. exactly! you can see the wonderful wood elements and the fantastic stitching. it has a very high-quality design. more of a classical instrument cluster which nevertheless has a large display. here is the entry-level navigation system. exactly, a slightly smaller screen. the entry-level navigation system is controlled using the same principles familiar from the c-class. these have been refined and adapted to the functions of the e-class. we have added more functions. we will see this in a moment. the sub-menus are wider.
we have been working on the 213 for four years and supported the calculation phase this enabled us to contribute our experience with the predecessor and evaluate the calculations and simulations from a test perspective. based on the simulation we were able to make quite a lot of decisions about the series-production measures. these concern the suspension, the acoustics, vibrations or driving over curbs, for example, when a vehicle is in danger of hitting the exhaust systems and bumpers on the ground. the ground clearance. yes, the ground clearance. you can simulate this very well. we drove the vehicles off curbs at a very early stage and added appropriate protective elements to the vehicle underbody as a result. we did this three years ago and were very successful at the time and also in later real-life tests.
you need to know the correct spring rigidity and the correct shock absorber settings in advance for this simulation. all of the geometric data, the crash characteristics and deformation properties of the body-in-white are known in advance. essentially, we carry out a crash simulation for driving off the curb to determine whether damage occurs when driving down or during the impact. deformation, ground impacts… exactly. you can calculate this really well and we have come a long way in this area. so essentially with digital prototypes? this means the vehicle here was basically finished on the computer. yes. and six months ago we carried out the final real tests and verified the simulations. which regions and areas have you already travelled to with the 213? we have spent a lot of time in spain and of course also in nard㲠for the high-speed tests and heat validation.
so primarily for temperature measurement issues. we also carried out a lot of the heat testing stages in the usa, in arizona this primarily concerned overall vehicle issues and air-conditioning, to see whether the compressors could handle the demands and whether the interior cooling functioned in accordance with the specifications. and of course in sweden. so, for the snow and ice? that's right. in december we will carry out a final series of tests in sweden using vehicles constructed identically to this the endurance testers will put the vehicles through endurance trials in ice and snow. during the day, engineers work on the body, suspension or esp, and at night we send the endurance testers out in these versions.
they drive all night and in the morning the errors and faults are discussed and any immediate actions determined. then we send the vehicles back out again for endurance testing in the evening. the vehicle fleet then drives through the region around sindelfingen and also throughout germany and europe. the fleets always assess and evaluate the vehicles from the customer's perspective. the days of elaborate measurement equipment are over. however, we utilize relatively simple measurement equipment in every vehicle, especially designed for software errors. some manoeuvres may involve a lot of, as well as very large, steering angle movements. we have to check this again. so we delete everything and start all over again.
this involves one million messages per minute. errors can also occur because of the temperature or driving states. yes, of course. these errors have to be identified and deleted accordingly. e are currently four or five months away from the launch of the current 213 series. we are already relatively stable and it is going very well. the errors which we have here, in particular, are all software-based. it is very important that we do not have to replace this hardware. so we are very happy that we have stable hardware. the software loops now run weekly. the weekly releases are tested and you can see progress being made at every stage. so the hardware is ready now and now it is time for the fine-tuning.
we're not here to have fun, because of the sun and the wonderful atmosphere, but because of the trials. exactly. we see what happens and react accordingly. yes, perfect. that's great. so let's see what happens next. thanks! the heath route is generally 2,000 kilometres long. we drive this in several shifts and with a large number of vehicles. both in sindelfingen and untertã¼rkheim and also at the proving grounds. a lot has been relocated to test benches. we have discovered that the errors match up 1:1. this has the advantage of the vehicles being on the test rig almost around the clock, which delivers relatively quick results. how long do you need for a 2,000 kilometre hydropol route? one weekend? no, no. you drive these routes at considerably slower speeds.
no, i mean on the hydropol, namely the static test bench. it can basically accelerate time a little, can't it? of course. in this case it takes about 14 days to 3 weeks. on the original heath route in the 1950s they actually drove the "pontoon" models through potholes in the heath. we have press photos of this. this is unimaginable today. in the fantail era they actually took castes of these potholes and made them part of the test track in untertã¼rkheim. today there are still eight or ten different road surfaces in untertã¼rkheim. eight or ten. yes, exactly. eight or ten. so now we make white-coloured ambient light. here you can clearly see the 64 grid points.
exactly. and now it also changes in real time. this colour is not bad, is it? that is great. it would be perfect if we were driving to vegas right now. yes, it looks a bit like a disco light. where are all the lights? . in the door elements, the door opener, the door pockets, the silhouette lighting and the decorative element lighting. so basically everywhere. that's right. we still need to do a little bit of fine calibration so that the colour distribution is a little bit more precise. but that looks quite good, doesn't it? yes, of course. when you sit in here and drive a long distance then it safeguards your condition a little. and why 64 colours? simply because the vehicle can.
theoretically, it can produce any colour with these rgb colour channels. exactly, you can even make 5,000. but that is the shading. naturally, but that is no use. if i configured the colour for 447 yesterday and can no longer find it then i will get annoyed. more importantly, my eye cannot even perceive it. it is already dark outside now. so a test drive really takes a very long time and a lot happens. now we are back at last. the vehicle is definitely an eye-catcher i think the range of features is fantastic. of course the large double display is the highlight in the interior. i think we can leave it like that, can't we? yes, i think so. given the way it looks: definitely. especially at night. especially because you have a map display which is similar to the size of the one in the s-class.
this is almost a television size. here we have two different maps and at the moment we are using the… bird's-eye view, right? we can go back to the maps again… i always like the 3d version. exactly, we can set it to 3d. let us have a look at the surrounding mountains. las vegas is coming into view. oh yeah.
that is a bit of a shame because now we are driving in night mode. the map does not look quite as good as it does during the day. it is a little bit grey – but that is what the world looks like outside too. definitely. but we are not here to have fun but rather to put the 213 model through a series of tough tests and are accompanying you for a few kilometres. i just spoke with your colleague who said that the hardware is finished. so this vehicle could be displayed in the showroom tomorrow. it makes sense that 4-5 months before the launch and the dealer premiere you still have to refine a few bits and bytes for the software. yes, more than just a few bits and bytes. naturally, we need to optimize some things and we have to be finished with the software by february. this means that we still have a few days in november and will continue testing until and during christmas.
that will be one of the major trial runs. then we will make some more optimizations and develop the final software. we hope that this will be available and ready for the customer on 31 january. we also have a second slot. we can also test on 29 february – i believe next year is a leap year. we have covered so many miles and most of the time we use drive pilot, which handles some of the steering for us. is that the official statement for the drive pilot? oh, ok. that's right. that is very exciting. you could almost ask whether we were sitting in a research vehicle because for some of our viewers the left half of the instrument cluster almost looks like something in the f 015 or a similar research vehicle.
yes, absolutely. our instrument cluster is already finished and will look like this for customers when they select this design version. customers can select three different versions: classic, sporty and progressive. the great thing about progressive, which i prefer, is: the assistance displays are shown at the top i can see the speed in the middle and the engine speed on the outside. i can change the displays on the two freely configurable fields on the left and right i can use the finger pads to change the content at the sides and say what i want to have on the right-hand display, such as the navigation for example. then i can see the detailed navigation there. but naturally we are out in the desert now where there are no intersecting streets. you can only see the road and the bends ahead of you. so this is better for the inner city?
absolutely. it is great in the city. i have a large map for global orientation, the small map in front of me at all times and at the same time i can also use the arrow navigation on one of the sides. so i really have enough displays. and i can also see it on the head-up display. now we have a broad range of options for displaying things. i can assign the normal functions to the other side. such as the media display. then we would hear "gunslinger" if we had the sound on. or i can add my radio or my normal trip computer. this means that i can see all of my classic mercedes functions which we used to have in the middle. for example, the eco display with the fuel consumption information on the side. now i really have everything i need here in the middle.
and here the large display for navigation. here you can see that i can select "sport", "classic"… the system should do that. now it has switched to classic and we can see it here now. the classic variant can be seen on the left. it is very similar to the s-class with the exception of the new function for displaying the navigation. i will remove it. "sport" would be interesting. "sport" would be interesting, let's take a look. the vehicle takes good care of us – that is why we can concentrate on our work. the new stereo camera and improved radar systems do a great job.
we have already been driving for a while and i have not even put my foot on a pedal yet. here we can see the "sport" mode. we have an attractive engine speed display ... that looks good. ...with deep tubes. the needles with small chrome tips remind me of the 116/126 era. great! especially the visually deeper interior. exactly, that's great. we have the classic middle display and can add our fine navigation. that is not the case here because we do not have the navigation system on.
we can add the classic trip computer or the digital speed, this gives that welcome home feeling we have placed a value on adding recognizable displays, especially for the classic segment or here in sport-classic mode. everything is super digital but also "welcome home". we have used a very high-quality display. over there we have the navigation and the speed limit display. speaking of the speed limit: we are driving with the automatic speed limit system. this means i no longer need to pay attention to the signs on the side of the road. but i do that anyway. does the vehicle recognize these too? the vehicle recognizes them and automatically uses these speeds.
here we have a limit of 60 in the corner and the vehicle automatically slows down to 60. this is very relaxed and comfortable driving. it is dark outside now and the road markings are not always clear. nevertheless, we drive cleanly and follow our line in a dimension which we have not experienced with the driver assistance package 3. we could not drive anywhere near these times naturally, what we're doing here has been agreed with the dmv. this is an assistance system which lets me demonstrate hands-off driving. but officially, we are still fully responsible for the driving. that is logical because the law still requires this.
we have to emphasize this repeatedly. and the usual distronic plus still has a functional range of 0 to 200 km/h? that's right. yes. so we are only driving within the supported range. orienting the distance based on the vehicle in front is significantly more relevant when i drive at low speeds, for example but at high speeds the lane markings are essential. but as you can see, everything works perfectly. the dynamic switch sets the dynamics. ah, what you just did was good. yes, i am playing with the features. this is our sport instrument and matches the sporty side: yellow to yellow.
naturally, our engine data here is in pounds and feet, fahrenheit and horsepower and not in kilowatts. at least volts are the same. this makes up the display with all of the instruments and also the water temperature. there are still changes to the operation. and later on the additional functions will always be located in the same place. this is not the final software yet. the listings are not final either and some have not even been assigned yet. listings which have not been assigned will be removed later on. currently we have text here which does not have functions. we have a completely new chassis with pneumatic suspension. this has been available as an optional extra in the e-class since the 211 series.
up until now this multi-chamber pneumatic suspension was only available in the glc as air body control. like the 205, the 211 and 212 series had single-chamber pneumatic suspension. now we are overtaking the truck automatically. oh yes. that's right. this also works great at night and you can use it as well. yes, thanks to the new stereo camera. thanks to the new stereo camera but, above all, thanks to the new monitoring system. the vehicle pulls in directly behind the other vehicle which previously overtook us at low speed. now we continue driving at the cruise control speed which i set before.
you can see the air body control and can also view its movements. that's really great. it is probably difficult to get a feeling for this from the video but the driving comfort is impressive. we sit in seats which have truly earned their place. these are our new top-of-the-range seats with cushion depth adjustment. they will also be available with the massage function in future, which is not the case in this vehicle. that would have been good today. honestly, i have to say that i am very happy with today's test results. the assistance for the driver is incredible. naturally, developing a vehicle which will be the best business saloon in the world is a challenge this always involves a lot of discussion. however, so far we have not suffered any setbacks. the major advantage is that the vehicle was developed digitally.
directly very mature. there are always a lot of discussions about the functions, whether to include functions or not. how sporty should the vehicle handling be? how comfortable should it be to drive? that is a true challenge. i am someone who is very comfort-oriented so it was very important for me that the vehicle offers the maximum possible comfort. so the seat development was very important to me. if you move a little in this seat then you clearly notice the side support. the seat does not compress my upper body at all. then there is the very comfortable side support. now we have really good support underneath in the cushion. i have been driving since this morning, without any problems and feel very comfortably in this seat.
that is no problem at all. but the seating comfort in the rear is also very important for me. the rear seat is very important in terms of both the seating comfort and the rolling noise comfort. that is why we have also invested a lot of energy in optimizing the rear seat area and creating a truly comfortable design. i hope that you are comfortable back there? very. we truly have outstanding comfort for a business saloon and for the scenario in which someone is sitting in the rear and being driven somewhere. comfort was very important alongside issues such as the efficiency of the new engine, the assistance systems, comfort begins with the seat, which i am connected to. and naturally comfort goes down to the suspension itself.
we are driving with the multi-chamber pneumatic suspension and simply need a smooth driving feeling and very quiet rolling noise. a smooth and safe driving feeling. some people think that with pneumatic suspension they are decoupled from the road and it is like driving on cotton. it has to give the driver the sense of soft, comfortable and yet also safe traction. here we have to differentiate between vertical and horizontal movement. vertically, we truly want to float and feel nothing of the road. one thing is clear, we are not a flying carpet. because when i turn the steering wheel even a little… ... then the steering responds immediately and directly. we have done a lot of fine-tuning here and are truly proud of the results. unfortunately, you cannot drive it yourself. yes, unfortunately we will have to wait a while.
the steering is very responsive. horizontally, we have very safe handling and a very safe driving feeling. without any tipping we float above the road in the vertical sense. that is how it should be. the other way around is bad. yes, that would be the wrong way. we do not want to have these tilting movements, in particular. we do not want to sway like a swing which goes back and forth. that is not the case here because we have very good horizontal control. even when i steer here there are no rocking movements, instead the vehicle simply rolls.
exactly, it simply follows your commands. that's right, without rocking. yes, exactly. we cannot demonstrate the driving dynamics. we want to achieve a maximum range between smooth, comfort-oriented driving like now and sporty driving through the alps, for example this is a matter of the engine and the steering which becomes firmer and, above all, the suspension system the ratio spread is one of the core targets of my development. i can address the steering with esp – which has three stages here and not one stage – together with all of the engine electrical systems. these aspects are all included in dynamic select.
so i have the option of reacting depending on what mood i am in. that was very important to us and i think that we have been very successful. the overall ratio is fantastic. now the vehicle is so intelligent that, in our highly networked world, you can display the fuel prices of a petrol station via the internet. we are driving a petrol vehicle and can view the lowest price for the fuel, like e10 or super plus. or the price at the petrol station which is up ahead. correct. so we can take advantage of the best deals via the internet. unfortunately, we cannot demonstrate that here. we would automatically see how much the right petrol costs at various petrol stations. then i can select the petrol station with the lowest price on the map and the system would query whether i want to drive to this petrol station.
yes, great. that is great. unfortunately, this is not available via the backend because we are on the road in the usa. this will also work in the usa in future. currently we can demonstrate this in germany. it functions very consistently there. when you see all of this then it is just surreal. absolutely incredible.
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