Mercedes-Benz Experimental Safety Vehicles ESV 2009 (2009), ESV 24 (1974), ESV 22a (1973), ESV 13 (1972) – l. to r.

Milestones in safety development

The history of the ESV models at Mercedes-Benz.

In the early 1970s, just as part of the ESV programme (Experimental Safety Vehicles), Mercedes-Benz built more than 30 test vehicles to research into future automobile safety systems. It is with these ESVs that the brand reflects its many years of systematic activities for the development of vehicle safety. They prepare the way for numerous innovations, some of which are only ready for series production years later. They include ABS, belt tensioners and belt force limiters, airbags, pedestrian protection measures and side impact protection.

In the 1960s one negative aspect of mass motorisation could no longer be ignored: more and more people were dying in road traffic accidents. In 1968, on the initiative of NATO, which was following the aim of addressing social challenges with civilian programmes at the time, the American Department of Transportation (DOT) started a programme for the development of Experimental Safety Vehicles (ESVs). In 1970 it called an international conference into being which has since 1991 carried the name Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles.

Requirements for the ESVs: front and rear impact at 80 km/h

The first requirements for Experimental Safety Vehicles (ESVs) were defined in 1970. They included an extremely demanding front and rear impact against a rigid barrier at 80 km/h, and a side impact against a mast at 20 km/h. The test vehicles were also to withstand more minor accidents at 16 km/h without lasting deformation of the front and rear.

The American government also issued an invitation to foreign countries to take part in this safety research. In 1970 this gave rise to the European Enhanced Vehicle Safety Committee (EEVC), which is still active today.
ESV 05 front impact.
ESV 05 front impact.

World innovation in 1959: safety body with crumple zones

Mercedes-Benz responded very positively to the challenge of designing safer vehicles. After all, the company could already look back on more than 20 years of continuous safety research at the time. In 1949, after the first beginnings at the end of the 1930s, the systematic research work resumed after the Second World War already led to the development of a safety door lock designed to prevent the doors from springing open in an accident. An improved version entered series production ten years later, in 1959 – together with the "unsharpened" interior designed to reduce secondary injuries. Also introduced was another world innovation that has saved many lives to this day: the safety body invented by Béla Barényi. Crumple zones at the front and rear absorb impact energy, with a rigid passenger cell between them. The safety body was the fundamental basis for all subsequent safety developments, and a pioneering milestone in vehicle safety.

In 1959 Mercedes-Benz also began systematic crash testing at the Sindelfingen plant, and this was to become an important part of the development process for new vehicle models. Ten years later the company intensified its safety development by forming the accident research department. This department analyses real accidents to systematically incorporate the findings into vehicle development.

Project ESV: in four years Mercedes-Benz built 35 vehicles

From spring 1971 the ESF project in Sindelfingen went full speed ahead. More than 30 vehicles were built and tested over the next four years. The first test took place on 12 March 1971, with a series production car from the medium-class W 114 series: It took the form of a frontal impact against a fixed wall at 80 km/h. The crash tests also included front and rear impact tests, side impact tests against masts and other vehicles, and also drop tests from a height of 0.5 meters. As early as October 1971, Mercedes-Benz presented the ESF 05 at the 2nd International ESV Conference in Sindelfingen.

All in all, Mercedes-Benz presented the following four ESFs to the public as part of the ESV programme:
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ESV 5 Close

Developed on the basis of the W 114 ("Stroke/8") series, presented at the 2nd International ESV Conference from 26 to 29 October 1971 in Sindelfingen
Mercedes-Benz ESF 05 Experimental Safety Vehicle.
Mercedes-Benz ESF 05 Experimental Safety Vehicle.

• Configured for impact speeds of up to 80 km/h
• Five three-point seat belts each with three force limiters, self-fitting front belts
• Driver and front passenger airbags, also an airbag in each front seat backrest for the outer rear passengers. Resulting increase in the weight of each front seat to 63 kilograms (standard: 16 kg)
• Extensive structural reinforcement of the front section and sides
• Kerb weight: 2060 kilograms (665 kg more than standard)
• Overall length 5340 millimeters (655 mm more than standard)
• Wheelbase 100 mm longer than standard to retain space in the rear despite larger seats
• Front section extension including hydraulic impact absorbers: 370 mm
• Experimental V6 engine to gain deformation space in the front
• Dashboard with metal impact absorber in the front passenger area
• Impact areas in the interior padded with polyurethane foam, especially doors, pillars and roof frame
• Power windows rather than window winders in the doors
• Headlamp wipers, beam control, parallel rear window wipers
• Side marker lights, rear lights with stationary relay and control system
• Windscreen and rear window of bonded laminated glass
• Pedals with rounded lower sections
• Anti-lock braking system (ABS).
ESV 13 Close

Revised variant of the ESV 5, presented at the 3rd International ESV Conference from 30 May to 2 June 1972 in Washington (USA)
Mercedes-Benz Experimental Safety Vehicle ESF 13 from 1972.
Mercedes-Benz Experimental Safety Vehicle ESF 13 from 1972.

• Restraint systems and other details as in the ESV 5
• Kerb weight: 2100 kilograms (705 kg more than standard)
• Overall length 5235 millimeters (550 mm more than standard)
• Front section extension including hydraulic impact absorbers: 420 mm
• The changes in external dimensions were primarily the result of redesigning the front and rear ends. The bumpers could now be under-ridden, while the deformation path remained the same. The front and rear were extended to reduce the bumper overhang to a stylistically acceptable size.
ESV 22 Close

Based on the S-Class (116 series), presented at the 4th International ESV Conference from 13 to 16 March 1973 in Kyoto (Japan)
Mercedes-Benz Experimental Safety Vehicle ESF 22 from 1973.
Mercedes-Benz Experimental Safety Vehicle ESF 22 from 1973.

• Configured for impact speeds of up to 65 km/h
• Four three-point belts, each with three force limiters and a belt tensioner
• Airbag instead of belt tensioner for the driver's seat
• Kerb weight: 2025 kilograms (287 kg more than standard)
• Overall length 5240 millimeters (280 mm more than standard)
• Front section extension including hydraulic impact absorbers: 245 mm
• Anti-lock braking system (ABS).
ESV 24 Close

Modified S-Class (116 series), presented at the 5th International ESV Conference from 4 to 7 June 1974 in London (Great Britain)
Mercedes-Benz Experimental Safety Vehicle ESF 24 from 1974.
Mercedes-Benz Experimental Safety Vehicle ESF 24 from 1974.

• Restraint system as in ESF 22
• Kerb weight: 1930 kilograms (192 kg more than standard)
• Overall length 5225 millimeters (265 mm more than standard)
• Front section extension including hydraulic impact absorbers: 150 mm
• Anti-lock braking system (ABS).

Milestones in safety development at Mercedes-Benz

All this provided an important basis for the safety level of car bearing the Mercedes star. The consolidated test report (1975) came to the same conclusion. It states: "The ESF 24 brings the project to a close, as this vehicle represents the best possible compromise between the original ESV requirements and our present production models."

Safety aspects having been part of the development process for new models as a matter of course at Mercedes-Benz for many years, the ideas first realised during the development of the ESFs entered series production in rapid succession. Milestones include the following:

• 1978: The anti-lock braking system ABS enters series production
• 1980: Introduction of the driver airbag and belt tensioner as a world innovation
• 1995: Belt force limiters and sidebags enter series production

Mercedes-Benz also brought an immense number of other active and passive safety features to market, as the brand continues to be a pacemaker in the field of vehicle safety.

Experimental safety vehicles from 2009 to today

In keeping with this role, Mercedes-Benz presented a new Experimental Safety Vehicle in 2009. In presenting the ESF 2009, the brand not only marked two anniversaries, namely "50 years of the safety body" and "40 years of accident research", but also managed to bring the ESV Conference back to Stuttgart after 38 years.

The ESV 2019 shown in spring 2019 seamlessly continues this tradition. It has more than a dozen innovations on board and also picks up on current trends for the future, such as electric drivetrains and autonomous driving. The solutions include both developments close to production level and others that extend far into the future – as is always the case with Mercedes-Benz’s experimental safety vehicles. Every ESV reflects the extremely broad technological horizon that underlines this brand’s uncompromising drive to advance innovations in vehicle safety.
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ESF 2009 Close

Developed on the basis of the S-Class (222 series), presented at the 21st International ESV Conference from 15 to 18 June 2009 in Stuttgart
Mercedes-Benz Experimental Safety Vehicle ESF 2009 from 2009.
Mercedes-Benz Experimental Safety Vehicle ESF 2009 from 2009.

• Beltbag: Inflatable seat belt widening to lower the risk of injury, entered series production in 2013 in the S-Class (222 series)
• Braking Bag: Auxiliary brake in the vehicle's underbody, and possibly a new PRE-SAFE® component
• Child Protect: Metal frame and padding for improved side impact protection, attractive appearance and "adjustment for growth"
• Hybrid Battery Shield: All-round electrical and mechanical protective measures for the lithium-ion battery, entered series production in 2009 in the S 400 HYBRID (221 series)
• Interactive Vehicle Communication: Communication between vehicles. Initially an option in combination with the Drive Kit Plus in the A-Class in 2013, entered series production in the E Class (213 series) in 2016.
• Interseat Protection: Addresses the rare case when e.g. the driver and front passenger collide during a side impact. The interaction protection presented two different solutions: an airbag installed on the inner side of the driver's seat for the front occupants. In the second seat row the cushions could either be used as comfort features or activated as a PRE-SAFE® measure
• Partial high beam: LED headlamps with automatic light distribution adjustment and spotlight function to light up potential hazards, entered series production in 2017 as part of the combined MULTIBEAM LED and Night View Assist Plus system in the S-Class (222 series)
• PRE-SAFE® 360°: Extended monitoring of the vehicle's surroundings up to 60 meters to the rear. As PRE-SAFE® PLUS, recognition of an impending rear-end collision was introduced in 2013 with the S Class (222 series) and the E-Class facelift (212 series). In this case measures are taken to warn following traffic and prepare the occupants for an impact.
• PRE-SAFE® Pulse: – reduces loads acting on the upper body by preventively moving it towards the centre of the vehicle by up to 50 millimeters, entered series production in 2016 under the name PRE-SAFE® Impulse Side in the E-Class (213 series)
• PRE-SAFE® Structure: Inflatable metal structures for additional stability of structural components
• Rear Seat Camera: Rear seat monitoring for the driver
• Side Reflect: Special reflective elements integrated into the door seals and tyres that are invisible by day make the vehicle's silhouette more clearly visible at night
• Size Adaptive Airbags: Automatic adjustment of the front passenger airbag's volume to the seating position and stature of the front passenger detected by the sensors.
ESF 2019 Close

Developed on the basis on the GLE, presented at the ESV convention in June 2019 in Eindhoven (Netherlands)
Mercedes-Benz Experimental Safety Vehicle (ESF) 2019.
Mercedes-Benz Experimental Safety Vehicle (ESF) 2019.

• All-round driver safety: The ESF 2019 has a fully automated mode with a retracted steering wheel and pedals to reduce the risk of injury. This requires new restraint systems and airbag installation locations. For the manual driving mode, there is vitalising interior lighting to keep the driver fit.
• Cooperative communication with the environment: In order to create trust in automated vehicles, their behavior must be intuitively recognizable. The ESF 2019 communicates with its environment, warns other road users and uses DIGITAL LIGHT headlight technology with HD quality.
• Child safety: The PRE-SAFE® Child child seat concept preemptively tightens the belts and extends side impact protection elements to better fix the child and reduce stress in the event of an accident. In addition, installation and vital monitoring are integrated.
The Experimental Safety Vehicle (ESF) 2019 presents more than one dozen groundbreaking innovations in the field of safety.
The Experimental Safety Vehicle (ESF) 2019 presents more than one dozen groundbreaking innovations in the field of safety.

• Securing traffic hazards: With innovations such as a small robot that autonomously drives out of the rear of the vehicle in the event of an accident or breakdown and erects a warning triangle at the side of the road, the ESF 2019 shows how danger point protection could be further improved. Other ideas for this are a warning triangle that is folded out of the vehicle roof at the same time, as well as the rear window as a communication surface.
• New PRE-SAFE® functions: PRE-SAFE® Curve warns of underestimated curves, PRE-SAFE® side lighting defuses accident-prone situations and PRE-SAFE® Impulse rear improves protection at the end of a traffic jam.
• Safety and comfort in the rear: A new type of rear airbag with a tubular structure and new ideas such as belt feeders, belt buckle lighting, USB belt buckle and belt strap heating are intended to motivate rear passengers to wear their seat belts in the ESF 2019.
• Active Safety: ESF Active Brake Assist 2019 protects vulnerable road users in critical situations. It provides a visual and acoustic warning and, if the driver does not react, brakes autonomously if there is a risk of collision with pedestrians and cyclists, even in the blind spot or in cross-traffic. The 360° pedestrian protection system warns and supports parking and manoeuvring.
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