Mercedes-Benz - The fascinating long distance drive from Paris to Beijing ends successfully

Bejing (ots) -

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- The Greatest Diesel Marathon of All Times Reaches Its Final
Destination in Beijing
- Best Average Consumption of Only 7.19 l/100 km Over 14,000
Kilometres

The longest diesel marathon of all times ended successfully
in Beijing today. The 36 Mercedes-Benz E-Class cars, which left Paris
on 21 October on a transcontinental rally covering about 14,000
kilometres, arrived safe and sound in the Chinese capital after
traversing Europe and Asia. Through this endurance test under extreme
conditions Mercedes-Benz has once again demonstrated the outstanding
performance of its modern diesel engines in terms of emissions, fuel
economy and reliability. Proof of this is also the fuel consumption
of the victorious "Ebay" team which won the fuel economy contest with
an average of 7.19 l/100 km diesel. The best result on a daily leg
was as low as 5.5 l/100 km.

"During this endurance test for a total of more than 500,000
kilometres, the 33 E 320 CDI and three E 320 BLUETEC impressively
showed the potential of our high-tech diesels . They proved that
driving enjoyment, great fuel economy and environmental compatibility
are not mutually exclusive" said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the
Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler AG responsible for the
Mercedes Car Group. "At the same time, the long distance drive from
Paris to Beijing rendered the qualities of the new E-Class generation
more tangible. The E-Class has lived up to all the promises that we
had previously made to the participants and our customers.", he
added. Today's grand finale of the long distance drive took place at
Beijing's historic Yongding Gate, the southern access point to the
"Holy Axis" of the Forbidden City.

During the five legs of the "E-Class Experience" more than 360
drivers from 35 countries took turns at the steering wheels of the
diesel sedans. In only 25 driving days they passed through nine
countries under partly extreme conditions, such as snow and ice, as
well as unpaved roads. The average daily driving distance was about
560 kilometres. Together with the 24 escort vehicles, which ranged
from the G-Classes of the Mercedes-Benz crew and technical trucks to
the mobile diesel service station, the marathon entourage covered a
total road distance of about 840,000 kilometers. This corresponds to
the 21-fold circumference of the earth at the equator.

Record breaking consumption figure: 5.5 litres/100 km

The "Ebay" team in car number 3 won the fuel economy contest over
the entire distance with a consumption of only 7,19 l/100 km. Thanks
to their economical driving style, the "German Taxi" team only needed
5.5 liters of diesel for every 100 kilometers on the 616
kilometer-long drive from Lanzhou to Wuhai. The figures are
especially remarkable because all participating cars are standard
production E-Classes with 165 kW/224 HP. And: The luxury sedans
didn't have it easy. They where fully loaded with up to three
passengers and numerous pieces of luggage. Because of the anticipated
bad road conditions and cold weather all cars were equipped with
winter tires and a suspension that was raised by five centimeters.

With a low total average consumption of 8.32 l/100 km diesel fuel
for all 36 Vehicles the goal of demonstrating the diesel engines'
superior fuel efficiency was clearly met on the individual legs as
well as over the entire distance. In total the fleet of 36 vehicles
consumed about 40,530 liters of low sulfur diesel fuel. That is about
20 percent or 10,000 liters less than originally estimated. The
participating 18 rear-wheel drive vehicles consumed only 8.01 l/100
km diesel, while the 18 4MATIC models with four-wheel drive ended up
with a slightly higher average of 8.53 l/100 km.

A taxi trip for 40,000 Euros

The most unusual vehicles in the fleet were the two E-Class taxi
cabs which accompanied the convoy over the total distance. In this
case, the competitive comparison showed clear cost differences. The
fare in the German taxi came to 16,050 Euros at the end of the fourth
leg after just 12,000 kilometres. The trip in the Parisian taxi would
have been clearly more expensive: At that point, the meter already
displayed the proud amount of 34,090 Euros. At the arrival in
Beijing, the total had come to nearly 40,000 Euros.

Originaltext: DaimlerChryslerAG
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Contacts:

Frank Bracke,
phone +49 711 17-75852,
frank.bracke@daimlerchrysler.com

Johannes Reifenrath;
phone +49 711 17-75834,
johannes.reifenrath@daimlerchrysler.com

Internet Addresses:
News of DaimlerChrysler under: www.media.daimlerchrysler.com

With the E-Class from Paris to Beijing. More on "Paris-Beijing "is
available at: http://www.e-class-experience.com

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