Race Car: New: E 200 Natural Gas Drive and E 220 BlueTEC BlueEFFICIENCY Edition: E-Class � the efficiency class: Superior driving pleasure combined with fuel economy

With the E 200 Natural Gas Drive, Mercedes-Benz is adding a particularly economical and environmentally friendly variant to the E?Class family featuring bivalent drive. It can run on both petrol and affordable, environmentally friendly natural gas. The benefits of running the car on natural gas include a 20 percent reduction in CO2 emissions compared with comparable operation using petrol, and half the costs for fuel.

Emitting just 114 grams of CO2 per kilometre, the new E 220 BlueTEC BlueEFFICIENCY Edition also underscores the environmental credentials of the E-Class. The driving dynamics, comfort and pleasure are still as superb as they always were. This special model will be available from Mercedes-Benz partners from September 2013 for the price of EUR 47,272.75. The E 200 NGD will be available from December 2013 for EUR 47,808.25 (all prices including VAT).

The advantages of the E 200 Natural Gas Drive mainly come to the fore when it is running on natural gas. It uses 4.3 kg of natural gas per 100 kilometres (NEDC combined), which corresponds to CO2 emissions of 116 g per kilometre. The natural gas mode is also kinder to the environment than petrol or diesel engines thanks to its cleaner exhaust gases. If the new E 200 NGD automatically switches seamlessly to running on petrol because the gas tank is empty, its newly-developed, high-tech, four-cylinder engine needs just 6.3 litres of unleaded petrol (NEDC combined) for every 100 kilometres
driven (CO2 emissions: 147 g per kilometre).

Running the engine on natural gas is also noticeably kinder to your pocket, reducing fuel bills by more 50 percent in comparison to running on petrol. If you drive 20,000 kilometres a year, this saves you more than 1000 euros a year in Germany.

The bivalent drive also offers advantages with respect to the car's range, which is more than 400 kilometres when running on natural gas. As soon as the gas tank becomes empty, the vehicle automatically switches to run on petrol. This boosts the range of the bivalent natural gas model (the only one of its kind in the luxury segment) to more than 1300 kilometres. With the optional 80-litre petrol tank, the E 200 Natural Gas Drive can drive as far as 1600 kilometres without stopping for petrol.

The natural gas is stored securely in three containers � one behind the rear backrest and two under the floor of the boot. Together they hold 121.5 litres (19.5 kg) of natural gas. Despite the additional gas tank, the large boot offers 400 litres of space.

New, high-tech, four-cylinder engine and ECO start/stop function

The heart of the E 200 Natural Gas Drive is the new four-cylinder petrol engine with spray-guided direct injection, part of the BlueDIRECT family of Mercedes?Benz petrol engines. The engine generates an output of 115 kW (156 hp) and maximum torque of 270 newton metres at 1250 revolutions per minute. This allows for a highly dynamic driving performance: the vehicle manages the standard sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 10.4 seconds, with a top speed of 220 km/h.

Also on board: an ECO start/stop system that adds to the efficiency of the drive system, which allowed us to reduce consumption by 1.2 kg of natural gas per 100 kilometres in comparison to the predecessor model. This is an improvement of more than 20 percent. In natural gas mode the E 200 Natural Gas Drive qualifies for the efficiency class A+, or B when running on petrol. In both cases the vehicle already meets the EU6 standard valid from 2015.

E 220 BlueTEC BlueEFFICIENCY Edition: special model with top values for CO2 emissions

The drive system of the E 220 BlueTEC BlueEFFICIENCY Edition uses the Mercedes-Benz four-cylinder diesel engine with direct injection. It is extremely fuel-efficient, but still manages to generate 125 kW (170 hp) with an engine displacement of 2143 cubic centimetres. It also provides staggering torque of 400 Nm. Among other things, these qualities can be attributed to the high-tech compression-ignition engine's fourth-generation common-rail technology. The special model's drive package also features a 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission that has been optimised with respect to driving comfort and consumption, as well as an ECO start/stop function.

Other fine tuning includes low-resistance tyres on 16 or 17-inch wheels, the lowering of the chassis by up to 15 millimetres and a radiator blind that directs the flow of air as required and thus improves aerodynamics. The upshot of these measures: 4.4 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres (NEDC combined). That corresponds to CO2 emissions of 114 grams per kilometre, beating all other cars in its segment. As a result, the new special model of the Mercedes-Benz E?Class (which already meets the future Euro 6 emissions standard) has been assigned to the best efficiency class (A+).

The E 220 BlueTEC BlueEFFICIENCY Edition proves that ecology and temperament can go hand-in-hand, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.4 seconds and reaching a top speed of 227 km/h.

The new special model is available in all of the equipment lines provided for the E-Class, and can also be combined with any equipment package.