Mercedes-Benz high performance managing director Andy Cowell says there is nothing to worry about with the sound of the 2014 specification engine. In a press event at the Brixworth facility, Cowell took reporters into the sacrosanct aera of Mercedes to see the new engine on the dyno. No recorders or phones were allowed in but according to Reuters reporter Alan baldwin, the recording they heard of the sound was lower in pitch but Cowell says it is impressive nonetheless.
“It’s a little bit lower in terms of decibels because of the turbocharger, but it’s a sweet sound,” Cowell told reporters.
The new engine format will see a1.6 litre V6 working at 15,000 rpm developing 750hp and utilizing both kinetic and heat energy recovery systems (ERS) as well as a turbocharger running at 125,000 rpm. The additional horsepower produced by the ERS is around 161 hp for 33.3 seconds a lap. The new ERS unit is heavier than the current KERS unit and as Baldwin points out, the combined weight of the engine and ERS will be 145kg compared to the current combination of 95kg for the V8’s.
While some have been critical of the new V6 format and the sound it could make, it’s hard to render a judgment until they actually put one in a car and scream around a track. The critics say it will lack the high-pitched scream of the current V8’s and while that may be, the current V8’s seriously lack the awesomeness that was the V10’s and V12’s so all things are, perhaps, relative.
Oh, and one last thing…Cowell says these aren’t engine anymore, they are “Power Units”. Okay, whatever…save that kind of talk for Formula E, mate. If these burn fossil fuels, they are engines…even the Prius has an engine!
