100,000 hours on the test rig and ten million test kilometres

Mercedes-Benz is now adding the latest chapter to this long-running success story with the arrival of its all-new, groundbreaking four-cylinder diesel engine. After a 48-month development period, during which time the design engineers employed the very latest computer technology, the first prototype of the new engine was put into operation in August 2005. Some 100,000 hours on the test rig were required to elicit optimum performance characteristics from the new engine under all conditions and regardless of the intended purpose. The power units were subject to tough endurance testing, including acutely demanding cycles on the test rigs that were designed to truly put them through their paces. Over a distance of ten million test kilometres in a variety of vehicles, the engine had to prove its mettle in the baking heat of the desert and the icy cold of the polar regions, withstanding dust, mud, water and the very harshest treatment in the process.

The new engine celebrates its premiere in autumn 2008, when the first power rating variant will be launched in just the C-Class initially. The power unit is due to be deployed in various model series from Mercedes-Benz, returning outstanding fuel consumption figures in all cases. It can be installed both lengthways and crossways and is envisaged for all-wheel-drive vehicles too. Naturally, the new engine can be supplemented by the cutting-edge BlueTec emissions control system developed by Mercedes-Benz, and it is also earmarked for use as a fuel-efficient internal combustion engine in hybrid vehicles.