PARIS, October 21 /PRNewswire/ --
- With Photo
PARIS, October 21 /PRNewswire/ --
- Start of the Long-Distance Route Paris - Beijing 2006
- Cross reference: Picture is distributed via EPA (European PressphotoAgency) and can be downloaded free of charge under:
http://www.presseportal.de/story.htx?firmaid=8233&keygroup=bild
An extraordinary automobile adventure started today in the Frenchcapital. This afternoon, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, 36 Mercedes-BenzE-Class vehicles powered by clean diesel started on a long-distance journeyof over 13,600 kilometres to Beijing, where the fleet will arrive on 17November. Mercedes-Benz intends to use the diesel marathon across two continents to demonstrate the global potential of its drive technology. Over the course of the five stages, a total of 360 drivers from 35 countries will be seated behind the wheels of the E-Class models, which will cover acombined distance of more than 490,000 kilometres before arriving in theChinese capital.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061021/230947)
"The long-distance route from Paris to Beijing is not about speed.Rather, the sporting challenge for the participants is to achieve the lowestpossible consumption on the individual stages and across the overalldistance", declared Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the DaimlerChrysler AGBoard of Management and Head of the Mercedes Car Group, yesterday evening inthe Automobile Club de France, the oldest automobile club in the world. "70years after Mercedes-Benz launched the diesel engine in series car productionas the first manufacturer, we want to demonstrate again the high level ofperformance of the modern diesel engine in terms of emission, economy andrange, even under the most extreme conditions. We are convinced that infuture modern diesel engines can continue the success story around the world,something which has long been reality in Western Europe with market shares ofover 50 percent."
The fleet for the long-distance route is made up of production E-Classmodels, some of which have the four-wheel drive, 4MATIC. In addition to 33 E320 CDIs, the field also includes three E-class vehicles with BLUETEC. Thisforward-looking technology makes the Mercedes-Benz saloon the cleanest dieselin the world. Worldwide, the E 320 BLUETEC is the first and only dieselengine that generates figures below the extremely strict US BIN8 exhaust gasstandard, particularly in respect of nitrogen oxide emission. The 320 BLUETEChas been sold in the USA (in 45 states) and Canada since 15 October 2006. Theengine consumes up to 30 percent less fuel than comparable vehicles with thegasoline engines in North America. With its enormous range of up to 1,200 kmon one tank, it is predestined for an automobile marathon such as the Paris -Beijing - just as is the E 320 CDI.
The route of the "E-Class Experience" passes through France, Germany,Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia and Kazakhstan to China. Theitinerary largely follows that of the first transcontinental car race inhistory, which was run between Beijing and Paris 99 years ago. On thisoccasion, the aim of the French initiators was to demonstrate the technicalsuperiority of the car over the horse. The winner was the Italian aristocrat,Scipione Borghese, who crossed the finishing line after 62 days, with hiscompetitors arriving in Paris three weeks later.
In a re-run of the long-distance route, 360 drivers from 35 countrieswill be sitting behind the wheel on the five stages - of between 1,750 und3,550 kilometres. These include international journalists, VIPs and onlineapplicants selected from more than 50,000 Internet applications. Due to theoverwhelming demand, Mercedes-Benz increased the number of E-Class vehiclesto 36 saloons shortly before the start. The most unusual vehicle in the fleetis a Parisian E-Class taxi, which is to accompany the convoy across the totaldistance over eight borders and six time zones.
Contact:
Frank Bracke, phone +49-711-17-75852,frank.bracke@daimlerchrysler.com
Wolfgang Zanker, phone +49-711-17-75847,wolfgang.zanker@daimlerchrysler.com
Internet address:
For more information on "Paris-Beijing", including Google Maps, showingthe real-time positions of the participating vehicles, go to:http://www.e-class-experience.com
For your journalistic research, please log on to:http://www.paris-beijing2006.com. (login: "media", password "paris-beijing")
DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX) news at www.media.daimlerchrysler.com
DaimlerChrysler AG
Contact: Frank Bracke, phone +49-711-17-75852, frank.bracke@daimlerchrysler.com; Wolfgang Zanker, phone +49-711-17-75847, wolfgang.zanker@daimlerchrysler.com
