Experimental Safety Vehicle (ESV) is the designation for experimental

concept cars A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

which are used to test

car safety Automotive safety is the study and practice of design, construction, equipment and regulation to minimize the occurrence and consequences of traffic collisions involving motor vehicles. Road traffic safety more broadly includes roadway design. ...

ideas. In 1973, the U.S. DOT announced its ESV project, the aim of which was to obtain safer vehicles by 1981. A car produced by this effort was known as the Minicar RSV. In 1991, the ESV abbreviation was

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

ed to ''Enhanced Safety of Vehicles''.

Some ESVs

* ''Aurora'', a one-man effort 1957 ESV. *'' Sir Vival'', a safety car created by Walter C. Jerome in 1958 ESV. *

Austin Metro The Metro is a supermini car, later a city car that was produced by British Leyland (BL) and, later, the Rover Group from 1980 to 1998. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin mini Metro. It was intended to complement and eventually replace the ...

PSC1 (''Pedestrian Safety Car One''), 1985. *

BLMC British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor ...

SSV -''Safety Systems Vehicle''- series. Mini Clubman SRV4 Concept 1974

**SSV1 Based on the

MGB GT The MGB is a two-door sports car manufactured and marketed from 1962 until 1980 by the British Motor Corporation (BMC), later the ''Austin-Morris'' division of British Leyland, as a four-cylinder, soft-top Roadster (automobile), sports car. It wa ...

(1972). **SRV2 Based on the

Morris Marina The Morris Marina is a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive small family car that was manufactured by the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland from 1971 until 1980. It served to replace the Morris Minor in the Morris product line, which ...

(1974). **SRV3 Based on the BMC ADO 17 Austin 1800

badge engineered In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a ma ...

family. **SRV4 Based on the

Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

. **SRV5 Based on the BMC ADO 16 Austin/Morris 1300, featuring an innovative spring-loaded pedestrian-catching bar. * Chrysler RSV -''Research Safety Vehicle''- based on the

Simca 1307 The Simca 1307 is a large family car produced by Chrysler Europe and subsequently PSA Peugeot Citröen from 1975 to 1986. Codenamed 'C6' in development, the car was styled in the United Kingdom by Roy Axe and his team at Whitley, and the car wa ...

. *

Datsun Datsun (, ) was an automobile brand owned by Nissan. Datsun's original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in March 1986, but relaunche ...

ESV (1973), based on the Nissan Bluebird. * Fiat ESV 1500 libbre, 2000 libbre and 2500 libbre (''libbre'' meaning pounds in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

) (1971).

Mercedes-Benz W116 ESF 22 in the Mercedes-Benz-Museum IMG 6491

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 ...

ESV24 (1974). *

Mercedes-Benz ESF 2009 Experimental Safety Vehicle The Mercedes-Benz ESF 2009 Experimental Safety Vehicle is a safety research vehicle based on the S400 Hybrid, unveiled in 2009. Innovations * Spotlight function: Production version called Night View Assist Plus with Spotlight Function, intro ...

. * Nissan 216X (1971). *

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...

PF Sigma (1963). *Pininfarina Sigma (1969), a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

ESV. * Pininfarina Nido (2004), featuring a sled-mounted survival cell with ''interior''

crumple zone Crumple zones, crush zones, or crash zones are a structural safety feature used in vehicles, mainly in automobiles, to increase the time over which a change in velocity (and consequently momentum) occurs from the impact during a collision by a ...

s. *

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

BRV -''Basic Research Vehicle''- (1974). *Renault Epure, based on the Renault 5 (1979). 1973 Toyota ESV 01

* Toyota ESV (1972-1973)

Volvo VESC The Volvo VESC, the ''Volvo Experimental Safety Car,'' was a concept car made by Volvo to showcase a number of innovative passenger safety features. It was unveiled in 1972 at the Geneva Motor Show. History In the late 1960s, Volvo had a fir ...

(1972). *

Volvo SCC The Volvo Safety Concept Car (SCC) is an ESV concept car which was first shown at the 2001 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The SCC incorporates the rear hatch design from Volvo P1800ES and the glass hatch from Volv ...

(2001). *

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...

ESVW1 (1972)

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References

External links

NHTSA Page of ESV Conference Proceedings
1998 (16th) to ({{as of, lc=yes, 2016) 2015 (24th)
Collection of technical PDFs about ESVs
including Proceedings from several older ESV Conferences. Concept cars Automotive safety Experimental vehicles