ANOTHER BRAND with its own dedicated hall at the show, the big news from Mercedes-Benz was always going to be the launch of its gullwing-doored SLS, replacement for the outgoing SLR McLaren model.
Taking its cue from the 1955 sports car, the V8 normally aspirated 5.3-litre powerhouse pushes out 571bhp. But the story of the new SLS won’t end there: Dieter Zetsche, chairman of parent company Daimler, promises an electric-only drivetrain on the car by 2013. Sales of the new V8 SLS start next spring.
Among its eco-friendly concepts on show, Mercedes has an S-Class hybrid, the Vision S500 plug-in hybrid that claims an average fuel consumption of 3.2l/100km and emissions of just 74g/km. That’s incredible for such a big car. It follows on from the current S400 hybrid already on sale in some markets.
Also on show is the electric-hybrid concept called the E-Cell, which was first unveiled at the Detroit motor show earlier this year. Powered by an electric motor running on lithium-ion batteries, it can travel 100km under battery power with its range extended to 600km by a small petrol engine with an electrical generator that can recharge the battery.
Finally, Mercedes is also using the Frankfurt show to introduce its new E-Class coupé, which recently went on sale in Ireland.