Mercedes-Benz-Bionic Concept Car-2005 comparison

The Mercedes-Benz Bionic is a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

created by

DaimlerChrysler AG The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...

under the Mercedes Group. It was first introduced in 2005 at the DaimlerChrysler Innovation Symposium in

Washington, D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

The Bionic is modeled after a type of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

, the yellow boxfish, ''Ostracion cubicus'', and also has 80% lower nitrogen oxide emissions with its

selective catalytic reduction Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is a means of converting nitrogen oxides, also referred to as with the aid of a catalyst into diatomic nitrogen (), and water (). A reductant, typically anhydrous ammonia (), aqueous ammonia (), or a urea () ...

technology.

Engine and performance

The Bionic is powered by a 103 kW direct-injection

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

with an average fuel economy of 54.7 MPG (US) (~4.3 L/100 km). This engine also outputs around and a little over of torque at around 1,600 rpm. The Bionic can go from in about eight seconds and has a top speed of a little over .

Design

The exterior design was modeled after the yellow boxfish ('' Ostracion cubicus''), a marine fish that lives in coral reefs. Mercedes-Benz decided to model the Bionic after this fish due to the supposed low

coefficient of drag In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient (commonly denoted as: c_\mathrm, c_x or c_) is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment, such as air or water. It is used in the drag e ...

of its body shape and the rigidity of its

exoskeleton An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...

; this influenced the car's unusual looks. It was believed that the shape of the boxfish would improve aerodynamics and stability. However, in 2015, a paper in

Journal of the Royal Society Interface The ''Journal of the Royal Society Interface'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering the interface between the life sciences and the physical sciences, including chemistry, engineering, materials science, mathematics, and physics. ...

claimed that "The drag-reduction performance of the two boxfish species studied was relatively low compared with more generalized body shapes of fish". Other parts of the design include the fact that the rear wheels are partially fitted with plastic and that it's considered as a lightweight vehicle. Mercedes-Benz reported a

drag coefficient In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient (commonly denoted as: c_\mathrm, c_x or c_) is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment, such as air or water. It is used in the drag e ...

of 0.19;Mercedes' fish-inspired car
CNN (retrieved 2008-08-12) for comparison, the production vehicle with the lowest ever C_d value was the

GM EV1 The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by General Motors from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker and the first GM car designed to ...

, at 0.195. While the Bionic had a much larger internal volume than the EV1, the Bionic's larger frontal area made the EV1 more aerodynamic overall, as drag is a product of the area and the drag coefficient. The vehicle was capable of seating four people.

References

External links

The Mercedes-Benz Bionic Car as a concept vehicleMercedes-Benz Bionic Concept Vehicle at WorldCarFans.com
{{Mercedes-Benz

Bionic Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. The word ''bionic'', coined by Jack E. Steele in August 1 ...

Cars introduced in 2005 Bionics