NEW YORK – The concept models of the Mercedes-Benz bionic car are appearing as part of the “Design and the Elastic Mind” exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition at the “MoMA” showcases innovations in the fields of design and science, according to www.theautochannel.com.

The “Design and the Elastic Mind” exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York is devoted to the dramatic changes in aspects of human life witnessed in recent decades. The series of exhibits highlights the rapid pace of development — in mobility and communications, for example — with the focus on innovative design solutions that take into account life’s quickly changing requirements. The exhibition will be open to the public from Feb. 24 until May 12.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is the Mercedes-Benz bionic car, which was first unveiled in June 2005 at the Innovation Symposium organized by Daimler AG in Washington, D.C.

As well as boasting near-perfect aerodynamics and a lightweight concept derived from nature, the car features a clean and economical high-tech diesel engine with BLUETEC technology, with an output of 140 hp, which plays a major part in cutting fuel consumption and reducing emissions by a substantial margin: in the EU driving cycle, the Mercedes-Benz bionic car consumes just 4.3L of fuel per 100 kilometers — making it 20 percent more economical than a comparable production model.

If the US measuring system (FTP 75) is used, the vehicle gets around 70 miles per gallon (mpg, combined). When driving at a constant speed of 90 km/h, the direct-injection model consumes 2.8 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers — equivalent to 84 miles per gallon in the US test cycle.

Engineers, designers and biologists at Mercedes-Benz worked hand in hand to develop the Mercedes-Benz bionic car. The result is a two-door vehicle with four individual seats and a drop-shaped design that is 4.24 meters long, 1.82 meters wide, and 1.59 meters high. With a drag coefficient (cd figure) of 0.19, the Mercedes-Benz bionic car is one of the world’s most aerodynamic compact cars in its class. 

The concept vehicle also played a pioneering role for Mercedes-Benz when it came to emission control. It was the first test car to be fitted with SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology. The emission-control technology, which Mercedes-Benz calls BLUETEC, has been available for commercial vehicles since 2005 and in the E-Class 320 BLUETEC since October 2006. Another three vehicles featuring the world’s cleanest diesel will be launched before the end of this year, according to www.theautochannel.com.