SWEG takes its first Euro VI buses into service

Modern, environment-friendly regular-service buses operate throughout the entire network of routes served by the SWEG passenger transport company. Also in town centres, the bus plays a special role. It stands for sustainable thinking, economy, safety and comfort. The Citaro with its Euro VI-compliant engine is the embodiment of a modern and, above all, environmentally aware bus service. This is a bus that is wholeheartedly accepted by the population while at the same time constituting the backbone of the local public passenger transport system. In the presence of Baden-Württemberg’s transport minister, Winfried Hermann, and the chief executive of Ortenau administrative district, Frank Scherer, Tammo Voigt, Head of Public Transport Fleet Sales at Mercedes-Benz Buses & Coaches, officially handed over four Mercedes-Benz Citaro Euro VI buses on 12 June to Johannes Müller, spokesman for the board of SWEG. This procurement delivers yet further proof of the company’s commitment to sustainability. For it was only in September of last year that SWEG took two Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid buses into service, since when the vehicles have been in daily operation on bus routes in the town of Offenburg.

“Three Lions in Motion” design concept

One of the four Citaros is a design concept based on the visual appearance of some rail vehicles that will be in future service in Baden-Württemberg. True to the slogan “SWEG with Three Lions in Motion”, the striking design of the bus proudly sports the regional colours of Baden-Württemberg both inside and outside: signal yellow and white. Set off with halftone “Staufer lions” at the sides, the exterior of the Citaro design concept reflects the heraldic devices of the regional coat of arms. The interior, too, boasts the colours and devices of the state of Baden-Württemberg. The dark fabrics of the passenger seats are resplendent with the lion emblem, sometimes with a yellow outline, sometimes with a light-grey one. The signal-yellow grab rails form a contrast to the otherwise dark-toned interior.

The Mercedes-Benz Citaro Euro VI

The two-door rigid bus with horizontal engine combines the Euro VI exhaust emissions standard with a multiplicity of unique features.

This Citaro is powered by the new OM 936h rear-mounted six-cylinder in-line engine with 7.7 litre displacement, a power rating of 220 kW (299 hp) and a maximum torque of 1200 Nm. The engine already complies with the Euro VI exhaust emissions standard. Power is transferred by the ZF Ecolife six-speed automatic transmission. The abundant torque from the engine is an ideal match for the standard rear axle ratio of i = 5.77, which is almost 10% longer-legged than in the Citaro with the previous Euro V engine. This reduces the engine speed and therefore also the fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and driving noise.

Fuel economy

The new Citaro’s outstanding fuel economy is assured, among other things, by a recuperation module (24 volts), which allows the regular-service bus to save fuel in that the free electricity generated on overrun is stored and used to operate the vehicle’s electrical accessories. This reduces the load on the drivetrain and lowers fuel consumption.

The energy storage function is performed by “supercaps”, double-layer capacitors, with a power rating of 6 kW and a capacity of 1 Ah. This process alone reduces the Citaro’s fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by more than 2%.

In the Record Run Buses 2012, the Euro VI engine impressively demonstrated its clear superiority in terms of fuel economy over the already highly fuel-efficient Euro V engine. With a fuel saving of 8.5% in a head-to-head with the comparable predecessor model, the Citaro with Euro VI engine exceeded even the promises of the Mercedes-Benz engineers.

SWEG – at the service of the South West

Modern and regional – that, in a nutshell, is how SWEG sees itself. The passenger transport company’s bus and rail services extend from Weil am Rhein and Lörrach in the south of Baden-Württemberg to the area around Bad Mergentheim in the north-east of the state. The modern fleet comprises some 300 of the company’s own buses and 50 leased units. Every year, approximately 30 vehicles are replaced, involving a capital expenditure of around seven million euros. The majority of vehicles comply with the exacting EEV exhaust emissions standard (Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle).

SWEG carried 61.3 million bus and rail passengers in 2012 together with its ten public transport companies and five subsidiaries. With a staff of 780, the company is an important employer in the region. Its traditionally good image helps SWEG to win broad acceptance among the population.

Credits: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2013, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

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DTM Hockenheim 2013 (I): Sunday's Race Report - Christian Vietoris finishes 3rd

In the DTM season opener at Hockenheim, Christian Vietoris (DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) claimed his maiden DTM podium. Vietoris started on the prime tyres from third on the grid, completing his mandatory pit stops on Laps 6 and 33. In the closing stage of the race, he overtook fellow Mercedes driver Gary Paffett (EURONICS Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) who then followed him across the finish line in fourth.

Roberto Merhi (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) began his second season in the world’s most popular touring car series by securing tenth place. For the Spaniard, this is the best result so far of his fledgling DTM career.

Mercedes-Benz juniors Pascal Wehrlein and Daniel Juncadella started their first DTM season with a strong performance, achieving eleventh and twelfth positions respectively. Wehrlein in eleventh place narrowly missed securing points in his debut race. He set two new records on his DTM debut: Today, Wehrlein officially becomes the youngest DTM driver in the history of the series, aged just 18 years and 199 days. In addition, he posted his first DTM kilometres in P1 during the race when he led the field from Lap 9 to 25, making him also the youngest driver ever to lead a race in 28 years of the DTM.

Robert Wickens (STIHL Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) retired after five laps with a technical problem. The Canadian moved up a position at the start to a place on the podium but had to park his car in the Parabolica while lying in fourth position.

Overall standings: Christian Vietoris is in third position and Gary Paffett fourth in the drivers’ standings after the first race. In the team standings, STIHL / AMG Mercedes are in third place with 28 points. In the manufacturers' standings, Mercedes-Benz is second with 28 points.

VIP at Mercedes-Benz: 87,000 spectators attended the first race weekend of the year at Hockenheim, including Formula 1 star Nico Rosberg, who visited the DTM season-opener on Saturday and Sunday as a guest of Mercedes-Benz. As part of the weekend’s programme, the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS driver took the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz DTM racing taxi, enabling guests and fans to experience the magic of the DTM for themselves.

The next race: The second round of the DTM will take place at Brands Hatch (18th-19th May), and will be a home fixture for Gary Paffett. Paffett won last year’s race at the shortest track on the DTM calendar.

Comments after the Race

Christian Vietoris (24, Germany, DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):

- Third position
- Pit stops on Laps 6 and 33
- Tyre choice: option/prime/option

„That race was huge fun. The introduction of DRS and option tyres has given us drivers a lot more to do out on track, which makes it all the more interesting. Going into the race, I was optimistic about putting in a good performance. Because of all the different tyre strategies, it was difficult to know what your real position was. I lost some ground early on, but thanks to our excellent pit stops and a faultless drive, I was able to claw my way back and finish on the podium for the first time in my career. I’ll be delighted if the season carries on this way.“

Gary Paffett (32, England, EURONICS Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):

- Fourth position
- Pit stops on Laps 6 and 28
- Tyre choice: prime/option/prime

„That was a tough race, but a P4 finish and my first points of the season are a reasonable outcome. Christian had the better tyres and the better strategy towards the end of the race, so congratulations to him on his first DTM podium. The two different tyre compounds and the use of DRS made for an exciting race. Unfortunately, there were some moves out on track that weren’t totally acceptable. Fourth place is OK, but I know I was capable of a better result today.“

Roberto Merhi (22, Spain, THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):

- Tenth position
- Pit stops on Laps 6, 7 and 32
- Tyre choice: prime/option/prime

„Considering that I started the race from 21st position on the grid, then I can be quite satisfied with the end result. I moved up the field a number of places at the start, but there was a problem with the tyres on my pit stop, which is why I had to come in twice in a row and had to stop three times altogether. On my final pit stop, my pit crew did a great job, producing the second fastest stop of the race. Placed tenth, I’ve secured my first championship point in the DTM – I can build on that in the next few races.“

Pascal Wehrlein (18, Germany, DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):

- Eleventh position
- Pit stops on Laps 25 and 32
- Tyre choice: option/prime/prime

„I’ll be leaving Hockenheim with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I led the race for several laps on my very first outing, which must count as a big success; on the other hand, I was starting to think that I might get a better result. The first stint of the race went really well on the soft tyres, but when I switched to the harder compound, the car didn’t feel as good as it had before. We now need to analyse the reason for that. Even so, it was a good performance to almost finish in the points on my DTM debut.“

Daniel Juncadella (21, Spain, stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):

- Twelfth position
- Pit stops on Laps 26 and 31
- Tyre choice: option/prime/prime

„I’m well satisfied with my DTM debut. The main thing was to see the finish line and so to get as much experience as possible. I’m pleased to say that I managed to do that. The result could have been better, but I drove over a kerb, which didn’t do my car any good. However, mistakes of that kind are all part of the learning process and have to be expected on your first outing. I’m going to work hard on my driving and try to learn the lessons from today in time for Brands Hatch.“

Robert Wickens (24, Canada, STIHL Mercedes AMG C-Coupé):

- retired on lap 6
- Pit stops: none
- Tyre choice: option

„The start went well, but my accelerator pedal suddenly got stuck as I was tackling the hairpin. Luckily, I was able to avoid a collision with Bruno Spengler. But for the problem, we would have been in the points today, for sure, maybe a podium would even have been possible. It’s a pity that it didn’t come off, but the season still has a long way to go. I see no reason why we should not be up with the front-runners again at Brands Hatch. So, I’ll draw a line under this weekend and focus on the next race.“

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
„Congratulations to BMW on a strong performance and a well-deserved victory in the season opener. We now need to analyse this first race weekend and learn the lessons for future encounters. At the midway stage, the situation was looking very promising for us, but towards the end, the performance fell away for some of our cars on the hard tyres, which came as a bit of a surprise for us. Our Mercedes Juniors deserve special praise: they were brilliant in the race and have been faultless in every aspect this weekend. Christian put in a great performance to claim his maiden DTM podium, and our rookie Pascal has now had his first experience of leading the race over several laps. Unfortunately, he and Daniel were out of luck on the hard tyres towards the end, but they can travel to Brands Hatch with their heads held high.“

Credits: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2013, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

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DTM Hockenheim 2013 (I): Saturday's Qualifying Report - Vietoris and Wickens on the second row

In the first qualifying of the new season, Mercedes-Benz Junior Team members Christian Vietoris (DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) and Robert Wickens (STIHL Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) booked the second row of the grid. Five of the six Mercedes-Benz drivers qualified in the Top Ten, including DTM rookies Pascal Wehrlein and Daniel Juncadella.

Vietoris posted the third-fastest lap in the final shootout: 1:36.194 minutes. His team-mate, Robert Wickens, set a time of 1:36.920 minutes to claim fourth place. Gary Paffett (EURONICS Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:40.496 minutes) narrowly missed out on going through to Q4 on a drying track. The 2012 championship runner-up will be starting from sixth on the grid in tomorrow’s season opener.

The two DTM rookies Pascal Wehrlein (DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:41.337 minutes) and Daniel Juncadella (stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:43.775 minutes) start their first DTM race from positions eight and ten respectively. Wehrlein even managed to secure the fastest lap time in the second qualifying session. On Sunday, aged 18 years and 199 days, he will become the youngest competitor of all time in the history of the DTM.

Roberto Merhi (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) spun off track in the wet during the first qualifying session, sustaining damage to some of the car’s aerodynamic components. He was able to continue but, placed 20th with a time of 1:50.810 minutes, he did not progress to Q2.

Looking ahead to the race: The first race of the season at Hockenheim on Sunday (beginning at: 13:15 CET, live on ARD. New start time this season for the race: 13:30 CET) will be run over 42 laps, covering a total distance of 192.108km.

Comments after Qualifying

Christian Vietoris (24, Germany, DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé): Third, (1:36.194 minutes)
„Third on the grid is a good launch pad for this opening race of the season. We found it difficult to weigh up the relative strengths of the teams after the test sessions, and even this morning when we had all that rain, it wasn’t easy to compare the pace of the cars. Consequently, I’m all the more satisfied with third place. The guys have done a fantastic job, and under very difficult conditions, they made the right choice on the tyres and the timing. My DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé has been fast all day, which made me optimistic even before qualifying that I might get through to Q4. Even though I could possibly have taken more risks on my lap in the final session, I still met my target and I’m very happy. We can feel very satisfied to have got five Mercedes-Benz drivers into the Top Ten.“

Robert Wickens (24, Canada, STIHL Mercedes AMG C-Coupé): Fourth, (1:36.920 minutes)
„The season-opener has gone very well for me so far. I hope it continues like this. Conditions made today’s qualifying very tough, and not only was speed of the essence but also getting the right timing was crucial. My team and I did everything right and I succeeded in going through to Q4 for the first time. The second row is a good starting position for the race.“

Gary Paffett (32, England, EURONICS Mercedes AMG C-Coupé): Sixth, (1:40.496 minutes)
„We were running well in all conditions. It was definitely the right decision to change to slicks. Unfortunately, the track dried out more quickly than we thought it would and the others simply did better with timing. We certainly had the pace for pole position but to finish sixth is not a bad result, given the tough conditions in this qualifying.“

Pascal Wehrlein (18, Germany, DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé): Eighth, (1:41.337 minutes)
„We had difficult conditions in qualifying today. Our times in Q1 and Q2 proved that our car is fast. When I crossed the finish line in Q3, I was just a few seconds off being able to put in another flying lap. That was a shame, because I think that Q4 was definitely within the bounds of possibility. But all the same, P8 in my first qualifying is a respectable result.“

Daniel Juncadella (21, Spain, stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupé): Tenth, (1:43.775 minutes)
„To progress into Q3 at my first DTM qualifying is a really nice surprise. Q1 and Q2 went well, even though both times I had cars in front of me on the final lap. Unfortunately, I had a bit of bad luck in Q3. Timing was not ideal, so I could only post one lap on slicks. Nevertheless, we as a team can be pleased with the results. Let's see what we can do tomorrow, when it should be dry.“

Roberto Merhi (22, Spain, THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé): 20th, (1:50.810 minutes)
„Sadly, that was not my best qualifying session. Track conditions were very tough – it was extremely wet and slippery. Unfortunately, I ran far too wide over the kerbs and lost control of the car. I subsequently spun off track and did some damage. As a result, I could not improve my time sufficiently to make it through into Q2, which would certainly have been a distinct possibility otherwise. Too bad! I’ll now have to attack in the race and try to achieve the best result I can from my position on the grid.“

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
„This was a strong team performance from our drivers in the first qualifying session of the year. Five Mercedes-Benz drivers, including four of our Mercedes-Benz Junior drivers made it into the Top 10. This is the first proof that we are on the right track with our philosophy of focusing on promising young drivers. Roberto Merhi lost control of his car in difficult conditions, which is part and parcel of the learning process in the DTM. But I am certain that we will see good race results from all of our drivers in the future and maybe even podiums. Christian drove a superb qualifying under difficult conditions. Now in his third DTM season, he has the experience and speed to be up there with the front-runners. Unfortunately, Gary had some bad luck with the timing. In these changeable conditions, the smallest details can make a big difference. Starting from sixth position on the grid, however, he's still got every chance in the race of finishing on the podium.“

Credits: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2013, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

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