The F100 was technologically advanced with cruise control, xenon lights, voice recognition and a lane-keeping assistant.
Name:Mercedes F100
Launched:1991 North American International Auto Show, Detroit
Specifications:front wheel drive, six-cylinder engine powered by hydrogen, five seats (with a central driver’s chair), roof-mounted solar panels, rotating-swiveling doors, and rotating-swiveling rear doors
Why It Matters Now:
Although it might not look as beautiful as the 300 SL’s, the F100 was not designed to win beauty contests. The idea was to pack as much technology into the F100 as possible.
The F100 featured a central driver’s chair similar to the McLaren F1 supercar, and another forgotten concept, the BMW Z13. This unusual MPV was equipped with many features that were very special back then. Some of these features are not standard on many of today’s production cars. You will find electric seats, satellite navigation and an electrically adjustable steering column, tire pressure monitoring, key cards, and more.
The F100 also featured xenon headlights, which look a lot like the S-Class W221. This technology was later used in a BMW 7 Series road-going car. The F100 was a preview of the connected car that is gradually taking over automotive industry. It had a voice-controlled telephone, a reverse camera and even a reversing cam. Mercedes also included a mobile fax machine and a personal computer, as if that weren’t enough.
The concept had solar cells embedded into the roof, which covered nearly two meters in area and provided up to 100 watts. The extra juice was definitely needed as the touch-operated doors at the front were electrically powered. This allowed access to five bucket seats, which are arranged in an unusual 1+2+2 arrangement.
Without a wide range of innovative technologies, it wouldn’t be a true research vehicle. Mercedes introduced the pioneers of automatic lane keeping, blind spot and autonomous intelligent cruise control. These technologies are also used in conjunction with front-and rear-mounted radars.
The F100 had a front-wheel drive platform. This is similar to the four-in-1 1995 Vario research car that we discussed last year in the Weekly Concept We Forgot series. The A-Class W168 was the first FWD production car to sport the three-pointed-star badge.
Did we mention that the internal combustion engine runs on hydrogen? Mercedes engineers tried a variety of powertrain options, and this was one of them.