Mercedes-Benz BlueZERO

The BlueZERO is a concept car that Mercedes-Benz first showed at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2009, built on one underfloor architecture that can carry three different electric drive layouts. The E-Cell is a battery electric car with a 35 kilowatt-hour battery and a 100 kilowatt motor, good for about 200 kilometres on a charge. The E-Cell Plus adds a small petrol engine that only charges the battery, which stretches the range to about 600 kilometres, and the F-Cell uses a hydrogen fuel cell for about 400 kilometres. All three share one body, 4.2 metres long, with a transparent polycarbonate tailgate that shows the aluminium frame, and all three reach 100 km/h in under 11 seconds. Daimler developed it with Evonik Industries, and Mercedes described it as a launching pad for future hybrid vehicles.