Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Tech, Daimler
MB's next major innovation: Vented Taillights?
Back when my whip was a Volvo 740, I ventilated my taillights, too. Actually, it was more like drilling drain holes, but once all the trapped water escaped, you can bet that the compromised seal allowed plenty of air to flow through the lamp. Mercedes has applied intelligent thought to using the taillight as a hidden aerodynamic diffuser on the new C-Class, resulting in a slick Cd of .27. Instead of marring the design with some kind of tacky, nasty lip spoiler on the trunklid, the aerodynamic wunderkinds at MBZ have applied some clever trickery to keep the arse of their newest kostspieliges auto looking slick.
A lip spoiler changes the airflow behind the vehicle by interrupting the smooth flow coming over the top of the car. That interruption reduces lift. The problem with a spoiler, is that they require a specific shape to attain their spoiling effect, dictating styling direction. The C-Class engineers have taken an alternate route to addressing the vortices out back. The taillights act as diffusers, pulling air from underneath the vehicle and venting it out of slits in the lamps. The high pressure air under the car now has somewhere to go, which reduces lift. An elegant alternate solution that achieves the same result as the old spoiler. The air coming out of the taillight lenses also affects airflow along the sides of the car for the better, keeping turbulence behind the new C-Class down. We can't say how close you'll have to ride your bicycle to this thing to get sucked along by the bubble, or how badly it'll mess up your hair when it passes by, what with all that air blowing all over the place, but it sounds like a clever trick.
[Source: worldcarfans]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
emw 1:09PM (2/09/2007)
Interesting... now if only they make the upcoming C-Class un-ugly (from looking at some of the artist's renditions of it, it does not look to be pretty)
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Richard 1:11PM (2/09/2007)
Cool!
And, as with Mercedes circa 1985, the concave shape of the taillight lens will likely help blow off snow. Which is good because you should know when the $50k Merc in front of you slams on its brakes during the winter.
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jc 1:22PM (2/09/2007)
I guess that's similar to the ridges they put on the leading edge of the sunroofs and sideview mirrors to cut down wind turbulence noise.I guess we can look to that to be the next active styling feature on cars(strakes at the rear corners designed to diffuse and cut down drag).
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ruggels 1:41PM (2/09/2007)
Very cool, kind of like what we're seeing on the LF-A prototypes.. but less extreme... well i guess those are for cooling the engine... nm... nice none the less
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Nr9 1:43PM (2/09/2007)
wasnt the old C class already 0.27 cd
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SherbornSean 1:49PM (2/09/2007)
These Benz guys really sweat the details. Its interesting, the C-class almost always finishes near the bottom of the pack in entry luxury car comparisons, but sports some of the most satisfied owners over the long haul.
My guess is that on things that aren't measured in a comparison -- like how tired your butt feels after 12 hours of driving -- Benz does well.
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tony2x 2:01PM (2/09/2007)
I don't wish to comment on the actual article but applaud the author's use of the word "arse". Great to see UK English pervade it's way into Autoblog!
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george 3:16PM (2/09/2007)
6. These Benz guys really sweat the details. Its interesting, the C-class almost always finishes near the bottom of the pack in entry luxury car comparisons, but sports some of the most satisfied owners over the long haul.
My guess is that on things that aren't measured in a comparison -- like how tired your butt feels after 12 hours of driving -- Benz does well.
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my parents had an '02 c240 as a third car. things were always going wrong with it, and they traded in after less than 3 years/30,000 miles for an '04 rx330. i've read of so many disgruntled owners of post-1995 benzes of all model lines, from c class to s class. mercedes quality is a myth. and as for having comfortable seats - my mom took me on college visits in the mercedes, and i can remember having to stop and stretch three times on our trip from upstate new york to trinity college (hartford) because of how sore those seats made us. the car was fun to drive and looked sharp, but was too much trouble. dad put up with quirky european cars for decades - several saabs, a volvo, and a lotus - but it was the bad experience he had with mom's benz that made him give up on them for good.
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paul34 4:07PM (2/09/2007)
I can't wait for the rice boys to start drilling holes through the tail lamps into the floorpan of the car
lol "it givez mad d0wnf0rce,y0!"
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stradi 4:35PM (2/09/2007)
So it sounds like it will shoot mud to tail gaters?
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verdegrrl 4:48PM (2/09/2007)
I wonder if those intakes and slits will clog up in snowy/icy/dirty conditions?
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Brian Dreggors 5:55PM (2/09/2007)
Can they...can they make the car reliable now?
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Mike G 6:25PM (2/09/2007)
Mercedes is getting beaten to shreds by Lexus because they focus too much on elaborate designs like this but neglect the basics. Japan uber alles.
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Skream 7:34PM (2/09/2007)
Lexus IS has that too.
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Jiminy Cricket 10:03PM (2/09/2007)
Now if M-B can just make a taillight that actually WORKS for a few months without burning out. Can't even begin to count how many I've seen with only one functioning lamp.
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j-dawg 10:39PM (2/09/2007)
The R107 SL, which started production in 1971, had ribbed taillights to keep them free of dirt and snow, a feature which was prominent on MBs for the next twenty-five years. It's neat to see them go at innovative design again.
Now, as people have said, let's see them innovate the reliability back in.
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LPL 11:26PM (2/09/2007)
5. wasnt the old C class already 0.27 cd
Was it? uhm that would be funny all that trouble an having the same cd?
By the way DO NOT len your 2008 C55 to your-still-in-highschool daughter, that rear tailights would set you back for around $780. USD that is.
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D Man Sux 11:58PM (2/09/2007)
All German tech innovations result in electrical problems. The Germans are turning into the Americans circa 1980s.
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BOB 1:19AM (2/10/2007)
_________________________________________________
NEW GENIUS COMMERCIAL, MADE IN STUTTGART:
NEW C CLASS SAYS TO DOCTOR Z: "WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY AIRFLOW, SO MY REAR END DOES NOT LIFT UP?"
DR Z SAYS, "BLOW IT OUT YOUR TAIL LIGHTS!"
_________________________________________________
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MikeW 11:05AM (2/10/2007)
The Germans always like to stretch the truth, they marketed the previous C-class as 0.27 Cd, when it was Cw. Parking a car in a wind tunnel does not simulate the real world. In the real world you make your own hole in stationary air. That is not equivalent to having laminar airflow hitting the car, rolling wheels, moving ground or not.
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