Mercedes-Benz News - Detroit 2009: Mercedes Benz unveils the concept BlueZero

January 11, 2009 by tsikot

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Detroit 2009: Mercedes Benz unveils the concept BlueZero

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Mercedes Benz, Detroit Auto Show

Click the concept BlueZero for a high res gallery

At an off-site reception tonight ahead of tomorrows opening of the Detroit Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz showed off the new Concept BlueZero. The car is both an example of clean technology and a preview of the styling for the next generation Mercedes B-Class. Like the current A and B class models, this concept uses a sandwich floor design and adds a modular powertrain system. The car is envisioned with three powertrain options depending on the range requirements. The BlueZero E-Cell uses a 35 kWh lithium ion battery pack to provide a 120 mile range. The BlueZero F-Cell variant gets a 90 kW hydrogen fuel cell to 240 miles. The efficiency of the fuel cell version is rated at the equivalent of 81 mpg (US).

The third flavor is the E-Cell Plus adds a 67 hp three cylinder engine from the Smart ForTwo mounted in the rear between the sandwich floor layers where the spare tire would normally go. The ER-EV variant cuts the battery size in half as well as the electric only range. The range extender however, bumps the total range to 360 miles.

Mercedes also announced that it will begin low-volume series production of the fuel cell B-Class later this year and follow that with low volume series production of a battery electric vehicle in 2010.

Gallery: Detroit 2009: Mercedes Benz Concept BlueZero