The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class - Aerodynamics

With a cw value of 0.22 and above, the S-Class is one of the most aerodynamically efficient vehicles of all, especially in the luxury saloon segment. Aerodynamic measures on the body, underbody and add-on parts enable it to perform well in the wind tunnel and in real traffic. Extensive flow simulations on high-performance computer clusters were carried out at an early stage of development. Much fine-tuning was also carried out on the aeroacoustics. The previous generation of the S-Class already offered a very high level of noise comfort in the interior. The new model is even quieter. Although the frontal area (A) of the new S-Class has risen slightly to 2.5 m², it has been possible to reduce air resistance once again compared to the predecessor. The product of cw and A is 0.56 m², which is 200 cm² less than the predecessor after the model upgrade. One focus of the aerodynamic work was on the airflow in and around the front bumper. The space between the front wheel arch and the bumper is used as an air collector. In the bulges in the outer area of the bumper are slots in the side walls. These lead ram air into this space and prevent the airflow in front of the front wheels from becoming detached. At the same time a part of the hot exhaust air from the engine compartment is led into the air collector. This is supported by a better sealing of the engine compartment to the wheel arches. The starting bodies in front of the front wheels each have a large exhaust air opening with a 3D suction spoiler in front of it.