F 800 Style: the future of premium Mercedes

Mercedes-Benz brought to this year’s 80th Geneva Motor Show, a research vehicle that is supposed to unveil what the future of premium automobiles might be in some years, possibly a preview of a new CLS class generation. The F 800 Style is a five-seat upper-range sedan that combines efficient drive technologies with safety and convenience features and a new design language. The Mercedes-Benz features a multi drive platform, which is suited for electric drives with fuel cells as well as the use of Plug-in Hybrids.

Long wheelbase, short body overhangs, and a coupe-like roof line are the main features of the F 800 Style research vehicle. According to Mercedes-Benz Head of Design Prof. Gorden Wagener the concept is “immediately recognizable as a Mercedes, even though it embodies our reinterpretation and further development of the brand’s typical design idiom.”

F 800 Style Plug-in Hybrid

The Pug-in Hybrid version of the concept vehicle is powered by a V6 gasoline engine with an output of approximately 220 kW (300 hp). It features the next-generation direct injection and a hybrid module with an output of about 80 kW (109 hp), delivering a total power of around 300 kW (409 hp).

The F 800 Style can drive up to 30 kilometres solely on electric power thanks to the lithium-ion battery with a storage capacity of >10 kWh, without producing any CO2 emissions. The battery can be recharged either at a charging station or a household power socket.

Although according to Mercedes this version has a fuel consumption of 2.9 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers (68 g/km of CO2 emissions), performance isn’t put aside with the F 800 Style being able to reach a top speed of 250km/h and accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds. In the electric mode the concept reaches a maximum speed of 120 km/h.

F 800 Style F-CELL

The F 800 Style can also be driven using an electric drive based on fuel cell technology. This version has an maximum power output of 100 kW and a torque of 290 Nm, with the vehicle reaching a maximum speed of 180 km/h (electronically limited). The use of the fuel cell technology gives this F 800 Style a range of almost 600 kilometres, with 5.2 kilograms of hydrogen.