Mercedes-Benz scooped two accolades last night at the Auto Express Awards for eggcellence within the New Car Market. The S 350 BlueTEC Saloon was awarded Best Luxury Car, with the “Chicken” advert, for Magic Body Control suspension, winning the readers’ Best Ad Campaign.
In announcing the S-Class Award, Steve Fowler, Editor-in-Chief at Auto Express, commented: “The new S-Class really is the epitome of luxury motoring. No stone has been left unturned in the pursuit of perfection – the car has impeccable quality blended with hi-tech kit to create a sumptuous cabin. The driving experience is pretty special, too, again using massively advanced technology to deliver comfort, refinement and efficiency.”
Gary Savage, CEO of Mercedes-Benz UK Limited, commented: “It’s fantastic to see the S-Class win another prestigious award. It is a fitting tribute to the engineers and designers who have created class-leading new technologies and high levels of luxury, efficiency and safety. This is backed-up by our sales teams at dealerships around the country helping keep S-Class as the Number One luxury car in the UK.”
The Mercedes-Benz TV ad - voted for by Auto Express readers as the Best Ad Campaign – highlights the Magic Body Control system available on V8 models. Chickens - with their remarkable ability to keep their heads still even when their bodies are moving - demonstrate the functionality of this innovative system.
This advanced new suspension system detects unevenness via the Stereo Multi-Purpose Camera and instantaneously sets up the suspension to deal with the situation. The ‘eyes; are provided by the camera fitted behind the windscreen, which scans the road up to 15 metres ahead. The vehicle then adjusts the damping of each wheel to a tauter or softer setting in advance via an active hydraulic system. The suspension is adapted within fractions of a second and body movement reduced considerably.
Steve Fowler, explained: “Mercedes’s Intelligent Drive ad has been a huge favourite among the Auto Express team and it’s clear that our readers agree. It’s able to entertain and get a message across in an innovative and creative way. And most importantly for any ad, it’s hugely memorable – a brilliant advertisement.”
Gary Savage concluded: “The ‘Chicken’ advert was a brilliantly simple way to explain complex advanced engineering – and it was as memorable as it was popular. We used professionally-handled birds which were very well cared-for. In fact they were so relaxed on set I’m happy to report three eggs were laid. As well as the advert being viewed over 11 million times on YouTube, I hear our poultry performers are already making inroads into the movie business.”
The S 350 BlueTEC generates 258 hp, and returns 51.4 mpg with emissions of 146 g/km CO2. Magic Body Control regulates each wheel separately to give the smoothest ride possible.