The nice people at DaimlerChrysler invited me up to the Bira Circuit to have a run in a couple of the new Benzes on the market. The two newcomers were the
new C200 Kompressor and the S 320. The track was set up to allow those invited to try out the different models and to experience the handling and braking by putting in
separate testing sections marked out by witches hats.
Included in these were a slalom test wriggling through about ten witches’ hats and a braking test from 100 kph. There was also a “high speed”
avoidance test to be taken at around 80 kph, which was followed by the second chicane on the back section of the circuit. On the main straight you could try out the
acceleration 0-100 kph, but relying on the car’s speedometer and hand held watches.
I took the smaller C class car out first, thinking that it would be the nimbler car, and it certainly did show that it was a very good and complete
package. The steering was absolutely pinpoint precise, and in the slalom test you could slide by the cones with an inch to spare very easily. Again, in the braking test you
could use the inbuilt ABS system and pull up in a straight line with your hands off the wheel. The high speed avoidance was also a breeze, the car nipping between the pylons
and you could take the second chicane with power on all the way.
It was really only on the straight power acceleration run that the C200 felt initially a little sluggish. The power from the supercharged engine does not
come on strong till after 2000 RPM, so the initial few metres felt very slow. After the rev counter passed the magic 2000 RPM however, the car felt very strong. I enjoyed it,
despite the slow lurch off the line, and to be honest, 99.9% of Benz drivers would not be attempting full throttle take-offs from the lights at Pattaya Klang for example!
Since I had not driven a new S class, Khun Kantanit from DaimlerChrysler suggested I try the new 3.2 litre engine car and Khun Somchai, the GM of Parts
Logistics and Operations, came with me for the ride.
Initial feelings were that the steering in this much larger and heavier car was not as precise as with the smaller C 200, but it was more of a suggestion
than actual fact. When I came to do the slalom, the large S class whistled through, every bit as quickly, if not quicker, than the C class.
Acceleration also felt quicker with no lag down low, and when I came to do the acceleration test, by winding it up to 2000 RPM before launching gave us a
very, very quick take off. Not quite Mika Hakkinen in the Mercedes-McLaren F1, but very commendable for a large bodied motorcar.
Attacking the high speed avoidance test for the second time, I decided to give the S 320 a real bootfull.
The end result was sensational. The big car whipped left and right with such an incredible sure-footedness that I decided to keep the boot in all the way through the
following chicane. This was where the S class really shone. You could toss it into the left and right twitcher like a sports car. Throw it in, catch in mid corner and power
out on the other lock. An incredible performance from a large “luxury” sedan. To say I was impressed was an understatement.
As we came back into the pits, I realised I had forgotten about Daimler Chrysler’s Somchai in the passenger’s seat. Grinning with pleasure, I looked
over at him to see a very pale Somchai who was clutching his chest and saying, “I think I have heart attack!”
I must admit I didn’t expect the S class to be so fast and so responsive, and Somchai certainly didn’t! However, after a cup of coffee and a 30 minute
rest, he was up and about again and even went trying for the outer limits himself later in the day.
I have been guilty in the past of saying that all the electronic driver aids have taken the fun out of driving new cars. I have to retract this in the case
of the new Benz’s. By using all the in-built electrotrickery you can actually reach a new level in driver satisfaction and I might add, in safety.
Thank you Daimler Chrysler for the opportunity to stretch the legs of your C and S class cars. I’m impressed. No, very impressed!
Last week I asked which car was released at the London Motor Show at Earls Court in 1956 and weighed in at a massive 61 kg (you read that right, sixty-one
kilograms) and was 170 cm long and 88 cm wide. So what was it?
It was the Breutsch Mopetta, also sold as the Opelit Mopetta, and was the brainchild of a German race driver Egon Breutsch. It was a sort of egg cup you
sat in, propelled by a lusty 49 cc engine. It was not a financial or marketing success.
And so to this week’s quiz. I know of only two vehicles that could be purchased ex works with a wicker or woven cane body. One was a DAF Daffodil variant
and the other was ... what? Here’s a couple of hints - it was German and it was rear engine.
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct answer to fax 427 596 or email [email protected]
Most people would not be surprised that America builds more cars than most other countries. Follow the USA with Japan, Korea, Germany, France, Italy, UK
and Spain and you still have no surprises - but down the bottom end of the world’s list is where there are quite a few. For example, last year Thailand produced 45,243
vehicles (more this year), narrowly beating Uzbekistan at 44,946. Uzbekistan? I thought all they did there was have wars, abductions and shoot AK47’s into the air! Romania
produced 80 odd thousand, almost twice our score, and Slovenia had 118,184 vehicles roll out the door. Slovenia? I don’t even know where that is, let alone what rolls out
of the automakers there!
Of course, the good news is that we make twice as many cars as Egypt, the old Ramses Mk VIII not selling so well these days. But wait till next year. With
GM, BeeEmm, FoMoCo/Mazda, VW, Isuzu, Toyota and Mitsu all getting into stride, we should be a lot higher up the ladder in the manufacturing stakes, mark my words.
