Autocar honours 'DiesOtto'

The DiesOtto research program undertaken by Mercedes-Benz has been recognised by UK magazine, Autocar, with the mag's 'Safety and Technology' award.

Autocar editor Chas Hallet presented the award to Dr. Gunter Karl, who headed up the team responsible for advanced petrol engine design in the Mercedes-Benz Group Research & Advanced Engineering Powertrain section.

The award follows the launch of the F 700 concept, which Mercedes-Benz unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show (more here). A test-bed for DiesOtto technology, the F 700 is the progenitor of a series of combustion engine developments that will gradually work their way into production models.

Broadly labeled 'DiesOtto', which honours the German inventors of the Diesel engine and the Otto-cycle petrol engine, the developments will be adopted in on-going models as upgrades -- in much the same way that direct injection has been introduced in such cars as the E 350 CGI (more here).

As a showcase for DiesOtto technology, the F 700 combined the radical engine with electric drive in a hybrid system to provide V6 levels of performance with four-cylinder diesel fuel economy and low CO2 emissions.

"Our DiesOtto concept shows how, in the medium term, a petrol engine can be made just as efficient as its diesel counterpart and how the internal combustion engine will remain a key drive concept when it comes to meeting private-transport requirements," said Dr. Karl.

"Today we already use aspects such as direct petrol injection in our latest models, for example in the Mercedes-Benz E 350 CGI and in the Mercedes-Benz CLS 350 CGI. During subsequent stages of development, further DiesOtto modules will be gradually phased into series-production development."

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