The

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

F 200 "Imagination" coupe was a concept study by then

Daimler-Benz The Mercedes-Benz Group Aktiengesellschaft, AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It ...

unveiled at the 1996

Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...

. The goal was to show off innovations in control, design, and comfort in passenger cars. The car's exterior design was in part based on the, then, upcoming S-Class. This 2-door coupe also previewed the CL-Class coupe, which debuted in 1999. MHV MB F200 Imagination 02

Innovations

One of the unique innovations was the implementation of "Sidesticks".

Sidestick __NOTOC__ A side-stick or sidestick controller is an aircraft control stick that is located on the side console of the pilot, usually on the righthand side, or outboard on a two-seat flightdeck. Typically this is found in aircraft that are equipp ...

s were a drive by

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

design (rather than the conventional

steering wheel A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles. Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light and ...

and gas/

brake pedal Car controls are the components in automobiles and other powered road vehicles, such as trucks and buses, used for driving and parking. While controls like steering wheels and pedals have existed since the invention of cars, other controls have ...

s) that could be toggled between the driver and passenger. Other innovations included: * Butterfly doors (to be utilized in the later Mercedes-Benz 2003 SLR McLaren) * Electro-transparent panoramic roof glass (to be utilized in the later 2002

Maybach 62 The Maybach 57 (chassis no. W240) and 62 (chassis no. V240) were the first automobile models of the Maybach brand since the brand's revival by DaimlerChrysler AG (now Mercedes-Benz Group AG). They are derived from the Mercedes-Benz Maybach concept ...

) *Video cameras in the place of rear view mirrors. * Window-Airbag (series launch in the

Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W220) The Mercedes-Benz W220 was a range of flagship sedans which, as the fourth generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class, replaced the W140 S-Class after model year 1998 — with long and short wheelbase versions, performance and luxury options; available f ...

). *Forward-looking dynamic handling control system *A very significant feature was the

Active Body Control Active Body Control, or ABC, is the Mercedes-Benz brand name used to describe electronically controlled hydropneumatic suspension. This suspension combines a high level of ride quality with control of the vehicle body motions, and therefore vi ...

fully

active suspension An active suspension is a type of automotive suspension on a vehicle. It uses an onboard system to control the vertical movement of the vehicle's wheels relative to the chassis or vehicle body rather than the passive suspension provided by large sp ...

, which entered series production on another coupe, the CL-Class in 1999. *Headlight system featuring variable light distribution. Production launch as

bi-xenon A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for ...

headlights with

Active Light Function A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for ...

in 2003 on the

Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W211) The Mercedes-Benz W211 is the third generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class made from 2002 to 2009 in sedan/saloon and station wagon/estate configurations – replacing the W210 E-Class models and superseded by the Mercedes-Benz W212 in 2009. The C219 ...

* Voice recognition for mobile phone. Production launch under the name

LINGUATRONIC Cockpit Management and Data system - COMAND for short - acts as a combined command and control centre for all Sound, audio, telematics and telecommunications functions on Mercedes-Benz vehicles and includes a dedicated flat display screen. In addi ...

in the

Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W140) The Mercedes-Benz W140 is a series of flagship vehicles manufactured by Mercedes-Benz from 1991 to 1998 in sedan/saloon and coupe body styles and two wheelbase lengths (SE and SEL). Mercedes-Benz unveiled the W140 S-Class at Geneva Motor Show in ...

in 1996.

Urban legend fame

In the early 2000s, the F 200 gained popularity as pictures of it were being mass mailed out under the subject of "The New Benz - very different... really different!". Many of the emails incorrectly claimed the car to be the new "SCL600". The intent of the email was to draw sarcasm from the radical designs of the car and its Sidesticks control system.

External links

http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1276316-1-1276333-1-0-0-1320821-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html F 200 Imagination (1996) Daimler Official press kit

The F 200 email chains via Urban Legends

References

{{DaimlerChrysler F200