car-evolutioncars TRIVIA: History of the E-Class - PART II

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Stuttgart, Germany, Aug 01, 2008

Technical highlights of the E-Class and its predecessors


136 and 191 series (1946 to 1955)

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Saloon (from 1947) with all-steel body

120 and 121 series (1953 to 1962)

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Three-box body design cuts air resistance and fuel consumption
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First Mercedes-Benz passenger car to feature self-supporting body design
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Rear single-joint swing axle

110 series (1961 to 1968)

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Dual-circuit brake system with brake booster and front disc brakes from 1963
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Safety passenger cell with crumple zones in front and rear ends

115 and 114 series (1968 to 1976)

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Diagonal swing axle: rear axle with semi-trailing arm, auxiliary rubber springs and torsion bar stabiliser as standard
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From 1973 on ribbed tail lights to reduce dirt accumulation
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The 240 D 3.0 becomes the first production car to feature a five-cylinder diesel engine

123 series (1975 to 1985)

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Double-wishbone front suspension with zero scrub radius
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Safety steering column with corrugated tube based on design by B�la Bar�nyi
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Station wagon with automatic hydropneumatic level control
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300 TD Turbodiesel (1980) first car on the German market to feature turbocharged diesel engine
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Experiments with alternative drive systems: hydrogen, electric motor, liquefied gas

124 series (1984 to 1996)

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Single-arm eccentric-sweep windscreen wiper with largest swept area of any car in the world
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Shock absorber strut independent front suspension with anti-dive control; multi-link independent rear suspension
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Automatically engaging 4MATIC four-wheel drive

210 series (1995 to 2003)

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Electronic Traction System (ETS)
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Direct-injection diesel engine, turbocharger and intercooler in the E 290 Turbodiesel
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1997: new-generation 4MATIC as permanent all-wheel drive with ETS
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1998: diesel injection engines featuring common rail technology in the E-Class

211 series (since 2002)

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Four-link front suspension; multi-link independent rear suspension mostly made of aluminium
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Electrohydraulically controlled Sensotronic Brake Control (SBC�) system as standard
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Adaptive front airbags and two-stage belt force limiter featuring automatic front passenger weight classification
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Four-cylinder engine with two balancer shafts in the E 220 CDI
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TWINPULSE system for mechanical supercharging in the E 200 Kompressor

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