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Auto maker claims PHEV achieves 776 mpg
<p> <strong>Auto maker claims PHEV achieves 77.6 mpg.</strong></p>

Mercedes to Unveil High-Performance PHEV at Frankfurt

The auto maker will display the show car in Frankfurt ahead of a production-ready version expected to go on sale late next year.

Next week’s Frankfurt auto show will see “green luxury” vehicles out in full force.

Joining Lexus and Infiniti, German premium brands Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche will unveil up-and-coming high-end hybrid models.

Mercedes’ recent announcement of its S500 Plug-in Hybrid is just the latest example of how quickly the bar is being raised in short intervals. The auto maker will display the show car in Frankfurt ahead of a production-ready version expected to go on sale late next year.

The S500 combines roominess and comfort with fuel economy of 77.6 mpg (3.0 L/100 km) and just 69 g/km of carbon-dioxide emissions. The sole compromise is less room in the luggage compartment.

Mercedes adds the S500 PHEV to its S-Class hybrid lineup that includes the S400 Hybrid and S300 BlueTEC Hybrid. All second-generation hybrid-drive systems share seamless integration into the powertrain, an improved recuperative braking system and the anticipatory intelligent-hybrid energy-management system.

However, it is the top-shelf S500 that "sets another milestone on the road to emission-free mobility on the basis of our modular hybrid matrix," says Thomas Weber, head of product engineering- Mercedes-Benz Cars. "In this way the S-Class turns into a genuine 3L car with generous space and superlative drive-system comfort."

While the batteries of the S300 and S400 as autonomous hybrids are charged during braking or coasting or by the combustion engine, Mercedes says the new high-voltage lithium-ion battery of the S500 has 10 times the energy content and offers the option of being recharged from an external source with a socket located on the rear bumper.

The 80-kW (107-hp) electric synchronous motor, mated to a 3.0L turbocharged V-6 gasoline engine making 328 hp, gives the S-Class a range of about 18 miles (30 km) on electric power alone. It reaches 60 mph (97 km) in 5.5 seconds and its top speed is 155 mph (250 km/h).

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