Article of 20.04.2006
Lippstadt / Stuttgart, April 2006. After four years' production time and around one million vehicles sold, Mercedes-Benz presented the new generation of the E-Class in New York on April 12. Thanks to the Intelligent Light System, realized for the first time worldwide and jointly developed with the lighting specialists from Hella, as well as thanks to numerous other safety features, the new E-Class again sets pioneering technological trends.
The new generation of the E-Class is the first automobile worldwide to offer adaptive headlamps which adjust to the respective driving and weather situation, and which thereby offer a significant plus in terms of driving safety. The Intelligent Light System, which is available as an option for the sedan and the T-model, is based on the powerful
Bi-Xenon headlamps and includes five different lighting functions: The new country light illuminates the left-hand edge of the road brighter and over a greater range than the previous low beam. Here, the visual range of the driver is extended by around ten meters; he or she can thereby recognize other road-users or obstacles earlier in the dark.
In the case of motorway light, which switches on automatically from a speed of 90 km/h, a uniform light cone is produced which reaches up to 120 meters and which illuminates the entire width of the road. In the center of this light cone, the driver sees around 50 meters further. Thanks to the extended fog light, which is also part of the new Intelligent Light System, Mercedes-Benz improves orientation in fog and reduces self-dazzling due to light reflected by the fog.
The active bend lighting, which Mercedes-Benz offered for the first in the E-Class in spring 2003, has been developed further and improved again. Another component of the Intelligent Light System is the cornering light, which increases safety at intersections and when driving slowly through bends.
In terms of technology, the Intelligent Light System is based on the VarioX module from Hella. This is a projector-type system with an HID lamp, and is a system in which the standard bulb shield for the classic cut-off line of the low beam is replaced by a free-form drum. Several precisely calculated contours for the different light distributions are integrated on its surface shell. The command to provide the respective light distribution is sent by the intelligent control electronics to a small electric motor. Within fractions of a second, the corresponding contour rotates on the drum into the beam path and changes the light distribution. The swiveling bearing of the module guarantees functionality in the bend for all light distributions.