Mercedes-Benz Advanced Lighting Testing Center Opened: Endurance Testing on a Rough Road Track in the Heide

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• Just opened: Most advanced light testing centre with a realistic country road replica
• Robots at the wheel: Fully automated endurance testing on a demanding rough-road track
• ‘Digital twin’: All test modules can also be used digitally for preliminary simulations
• A world of testing in Immendingen: Over 30 modules across 86 kilometres of road-simulating track
• Animal helpers: Sheep prevent scrub encroachment, llamas protect the herd
• Anniversary: Ten years ago, the ground-breaking ceremony for this unique development environment took place

With the new, state-of-the-art light testing centre, designed for versatile use, Mercedes‑Benz is once again expanding the diverse testing capabilities of the Global Proving Ground Immendingen. At 135 metres long and eight metres high, the new light testing centre ranks among the largest of its kind in the automotive industry. It enables detailed testing of headlight systems under constant, reproducible conditions – independent of time of day, weather or environmental influences. 

A complete country road is authentically recreated over 135 metres. In addition, the asphalt mixture was specially developed to replicate the reflective properties of an aged road as closely as possible. Up to five cars can be tested in parallel – including the simulation of oncoming traffic or vehicles ahead. Reflector posts can be deployed at the sides of the road in 20-metre increments and pedestrian dummies can also be flexibly integrated. The investment in the light testing centre amounts to 10.5 million euros, with a construction period of two years. 

Automation meets resilience: Driverless Heide durability circuit

With its high-tech testing facilities and advanced testing methods, the Global Proving Ground Immendingen continues to set new standards across the industry. This also includes the so-called automated Heide durability circuit. In this test, driving robots steer the test vehicles completely autonomously along a rough-road track. The track’s potholes, bumps and cobblestones pose a particular challenge for the chassis and body. 

The automation of this process increases the precision of driving manoeuvres, reduces the strain on human test drivers, enables 24/7 operation and significantly accelerates testing – all while maintaining the same level of stress on the cars. Depending on the vehicle type, the test vehicles must complete up to 6,000 kilometres on this circuit, which is equivalent to 300,000 kilometres of customer driving. This means that one kilometre on the Heide durability circuit is equivalent to 150 kilometres on an extremely poor road, littered with deep potholes, among other things. The test module is named after a very challenging rough-road track in the Lüneburg Heath dating back to the 1950s. 

Consistent digitisation: more efficient, faster and more sustainable testing

As with all test modules at Immendingen, the Heide durability circuit also has a “digital twin”. The proving ground is digitally mapped down to the sub-millimeter level, and vehicles and their loads are digitally mirrored. This data is used in preliminary simulations, serves as load spectra for test benches and thus enables test results to be quickly fed back to the development departments. Today, this digital testing is so precise that often many thousands of kilometres are driven digitally before the first real test kilometre is driven on the test site. 

In concrete terms, this means that, for example, in chassis tuning for each new model series, more than 100 different variations are tested digitally. Only the most suitable variants are then installed in a prototype and tested physically in Immendingen. One of Immendingen’s greatest advantages is precisely this: almost all test requirements for real-life testing – apart from snow, ice and extreme heat – are consolidated at a single location.

“The Immendingen Test and Technology Centre is the first digitised Mercedes‑Benz proving ground – here, real and virtual vehicle testing merge seamlessly. By digitally mapping the proving ground, using automated test programmes and employing state-of-the-art sensor technology, we are making vehicle development more efficient, faster and more sustainable than ever before.” 

Singapore Grand Prix Preview 2025

Fact File: Singapore Grand Prix

• The Singapore Grand Prix first appeared on the F1 calendar in 2008 and is known as the original “F1 night race”.
• In 2023, the circuit length was reduced from 5.063 km to 4.928 km and the number of laps of the Grand Prix increased from 61 to 62. Lap times were reduced by roughly 10 seconds due to the changes.
• The new layout was beneficial for the tyres; previously, they would begin to overheat towards the end of the lap, but the removal of four 90-degrees corners helped them stay closer to the optimum operating window.
• Track evolution is incredibly high in Singapore, given that it is a street circuit. The surface can ramp up by as much as three seconds between FP1 on Friday and Qualifying on Saturday evening. 
• The Singapore Grand prix is one of the most physically demanding races of the season. The intense humidity, warm temperatures, combined with the stop/start nature of the track, make it very challenging. 
• Due to these factors, drivers can lose around 5kg of weight during the race through sweating alone. 
• That stop/start nature, with a requirement for constant re-acceleration, ensures the circuit has one of the biggest fuel effects of the year. In simple terms, that mean the amount of time you lose each lap is higher for every kilogram of extra fuel in the car.
• Owing to the large amount of time spent in corners, just over 50% of lap time is spent at full throttle – only Monaco and the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico have lower amounts. 
• The track is also very bumpy. That adds to the stress that the drivers and cars are put through – that is particularly true with these new generation cars that run lower to the ground. 
• With a speed limit of 60 km/h, and a layout that feeds in at turn two, the total pitlane time is the highest of the season at 25 seconds. 
• Marina Bay is one of two circuits on the calendar to have a 60 km/h pitlane speed limit, owing to its tight nature. The other is Monaco.
• Being a street track, it is no surprise that between 2008 and 2024 all 14 Singapore Grands Prix featured at least one Safety Car deployment. 
• The team has achieved four wins around the streets of Marina Bay. Three times with Lewis (2014, 2017, 2018) and one with Nico Rosberg (2016). 
• F1 ACADEMY will join the support bill for the second year in a row in Singapore, and this weekend could prove important for junior driver Doriane Pin as she looks to seal the 2025 title.

Doriane Pin talks Singapore

Singapore is one of the most challenging and exciting circuits on the calendar, and I can’t wait to race there. With only two more rounds to go, I will give everything to bring home the results we want.

Monteagle & the Dixie Highway – America’s Most Feared Road

General Comments on Aerodynamics at Mercedes Benz

Aerodynamics at Mercedes-Benz: the added value

• Diverse advantages in everyday driving: increased range, more comfort and safety
• Long tradition: aerodynamic bests and modern measuring equipment
• Detailed aerodynamic optimisation: the new CLA with EQ Technology

Low air resistance means high efficiency. This makes aerodynamic behaviour crucial, especially for electric vehicles. Reducing the drag coefficient by just 0.01 increases long-distance range by about 2.5 percent. Based on an annual mileage of 15,000 kilometres, corresponding aerodynamic optimisation results in an extra 375 kilometres of distance.

Mercedes-Benz recognised early on that aerodynamics are key to efficiency. Accordingly, the list of models with top aerodynamic performance is long: It initially ranges from the W 125 of 1937^[1] to the 540 K “Streamliner” of 1938 and the C111² from the 1970s to the W124 of 1984, which with a C_d of 0.29 was the first production car to fall below 0.30. More recently, the CLA of 2013 with a C_d of 0.22, the EQS with 0.20, and the current CLA with EQ Technology with a class-leading 0.21 should be mentioned. Another aero champion is the VISION EQXX from 2022. With a C_d value of 0.17, this technology platform offers the wind even less air resistance than an American football. While the focus of the VISION EQXX was on efficiency itself, the AMG GT XX was primarily about ensuring that efficiency at speeds of over 300 km/h. Thanks not least to its C_d value of 0.19 and intelligent aerodynamics, the AMG secured 25 long-distance world records on the Nardò test track in August 2025.  

Previously, and especially in racing, achievable speeds and high cornering speeds, i.e., downforce, were the focus. Today, the main focus is on energy consumption and range while maintaining Mercedes’ famous and much-loved driving characteristics. But not only in terms of air resistance, but also in the other aerodynamic disciplines of aeroacoustics, keeping the vehicle clean, and open-top driving comfort, Mercedes‑Benz models have been at the forefront for many decades. Further information on the aerodynamic sub-areas can be found here.

This is also due to the high level of development effort that the brand with the star puts into this area: The “Large Wind Tunnel” in Untertürkheim was the world's first of its kind for automobile development. The first documented measurement took place there over 80 years ago on February 5, 1943. The “Large Wind Tunnel” is still in use. In 2013, Mercedes‑Benz once again took the lead in aerodynamic testing with the aeroacoustic wind tunnel at the Sindelfingen Development Centre. Further information on the measuring equipment can be found here.

Small details, big impact: aerodynamic optimization of the CLA

As great as the added value is in everyday driving, the aerodynamic optimizations of the vehicles are just as extensive, as shown below using the current example of the all-new electric CLA. With a C_d value from 0.21, this all-electric model is one of the best in its class. Within the series, the spread is also very small. This is partly due to the wide range of aerodynamically optimised wheels. These include, for the first time, a bicolour full cover for light-alloy wheels. Compared to a conventional wheel, it performs up to 15 C_d points better; compared to an already optimised aluminium aero rim, the advantage is still up to two C_dpoints. In addition, the aerodynamicists have optimised the wheel spoilers in front of the front and rear axles in detail across all inch sizes, thus minimising the influence of the wheels and tyres on air resistance.

In the area around the radiator grille and headlights, the joints were optimally placed and partially sealed. The underbody concept of the EQS and EQE has been further developed. The very smooth underbody is almost completely closed and the spring control arms and tie rods are also covered. The rear wheel cover is fixed to the body shell, so it has no joints to the surrounding components and therefore does not move with the axle when it compresses, for example. In order to avoid any aerodynamic compromises, Mercedes‑Benz even installs two diffuser variants on the rear of the all-electric CLA: for models without and with a trailer hitch.

^[1] On January 28, 1938, the Mercedes-Benz W 125 record car set a speed world record on public roads with its drag coefficient (Cd value) of 0.17: Rudolf Caracciola reached a speed of 432.7 km/h on the A5 between Darmstadt and Frankfurt.

[2] The record-breaking C111-III had a drag coefficient of 0.183.

Aerodynamics at Mercedes-Benz: A History

Aerodynamics at Mercedes-Benz: history

An elegant front section, shaped along aerodynamic efficiency lines, large glazed surfaces and gullwing doors are the visually conspicuous features of the world-record-setting C 111-III experimental car.

• Inspired by aircraft construction: early aerodynamic optimisations of cars
• Records in series production: ancestry to the CLA with EQ Technology
• Aero-Champions: concept vehicles and technology platforms such as the VISION EQXX

More than 100 years ago, aerodynamics first came into the focus of science - but it was not until after the second oil crisis about 45 years ago that it was given high priority in vehicle development. The first passenger cars were derived from the carriage. Also because of the low possible speeds, aerodynamic considerations played no major role. Even the first “real” cars of the Mercedes brand from 1901 struggled against the headwind in a jagged manner. For example, the Mercedes Simplex from 1902 had a frontal area of around 3 m², and its C_dvalue of 1.05 meant that the wind encountered almost ten times as much resistance as in a modern passenger car.

Shortly after the First World War, the experts began to deal with the aerodynamics of automobiles. Aircraft designer Eduard Rumpler (1872-1940) presented his teardrop car in 1921, which with its narrow body not only addressed the question of the frontal area (2.4 m²), but with its teardrop shape minimised the turbulence at the front and in the wake. The result looked unusual, but with a C_d value of 0.28 and an air resistance of 0.67 m², it set a clear signal.

Paul Jaray (1889-1974), the other “father of streamlining”, also came from the aviation industry. Also in 1921, he applied for a patent that still reads like instructions for building a modern car body: “The lower part of the body has the shape of a half-streamlined body and covers the chassis with the wheels, the engine compartment and the passenger compartment. The underside is flat and runs parallel to the floor surface.” For the first time, the wheels were no longer free, but were integrated into the body, and the fastback minimised turbulence at the rear. Because conventional drive technology fit under Jaray's body shape, some car manufacturers built vehicles according to his principle, including Mercedes-Benz: in 1935, a correspondingly shaped prototype was created.

The biggest disadvantage of Jaray's streamline was the long trailing rear - a “dead” space. The solution was found in the 1930s by Wunibald Kamm (1893-1966), the first professor of automotive engineering at the Technical University of Stuttgart and in 1930 founder of the private and non-profit Research Institute for Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines Stuttgart (FKFS). Kamm sharply cut off the streamlined rear and developed the prototype of an aerodynamically innovative passenger car with the K-Wagen from 1938 to 1941. The term “Kamm-back” for the sharp trailing edge is still a term today. The K3 car was based on a Mercedes‑Benz 170 V and, with a frontal area of 2.1 m², was characterised by a C_d value of 0.23, which was measured in the model wind tunnel at the time.

Increasing prosperity and falling gasoline prices in the 1950s pushed the effort to reduce driving resistance into the background. It was not until the second oil crisis in 1980 that attention was turned back to minimizing consumption and air resistance. The production cars from Mercedes‑Benz therefore repeatedly set standards in terms of aerodynamics: Examples of this are the S‑Class of the 126 series presented in 1979 with a C_d value of 0.36, the sedans of the E‑Class 124 series introduced in 1984 with C_d 0.29, or the S‑Class sedan (W 220) presented in 1998 with a C_d value of 0.27. With a C_d value of 0.22 and a frontal area of 2.19 m², the CLA (W 117) achieved the lowest air resistance of all production vehicles worldwide in 2013 (ditto the A‑Class sedan in 2018 and the S‑Class (223 series) in 2020). Most recently, the EQS reached for this title in 2021. With a C_d value from 0.20, the electric sedan is the most aerodynamic production car in the world.

Ahead of their time: record cars, streamlined cars, and concept vehicles

Aerodynamically-perfected racing and record cars also have a long tradition at Mercedes‑Benz. The Mercedes‑Benz W 25 record car of the 1936 season has a chassis with a full streamlined body for the first time. In the wind tunnel of the Friedrichshafen Zeppelin Works, the experts analyse and optimised the body in terms of flow technology. The result: a C_d value of 0.24, a speed world record, and three international class records. Rudolf Caracciola achieves a top speed of 372.1 km/h with the 419 kW (570 hp) record car.

The follow-up project, the Mercedes‑Benz W 125 record car, set the speed world record on public roads that is still valid today on January 28, 1938: Rudolf Caracciola reached a speed of 432.7 km/h. The record version of the Silver Arrow W 125 is perfectly prepared for its special purpose in the wind tunnel of the German Research Institute for Aviation in Berlin-Adlershof. The flat, fully clad body with a wedge-shaped rear reaches a sensational C_dvalue of 0.16. This also includes a radically reduced air intake at the front.

However, the aerodynamic findings are not only implemented for record-breaking journeys, but also on the road. The Mercedes‑Benz 540 K Streamliner built in 1938 crowns the development of aerodynamically optimised Mercedes‑Benz vehicles in the 1930s. With the flowing lines and low silhouette of its aluminium body, the minimised sources of interference on the surface, and the clad underbody, the Streamliner exemplifies the findings of research - it has a remarkably low drag coefficient of C_d 0.36.

The streamline of the Silver Arrows came back into the focus of the world public in 1954 with the completely newly developed W 196 R racing car. The aerodynamically optimised streamline version was built first for the 1954 season because the opening race in Reims/France allowed very high speeds. A second variant with free-standing wheels followed shortly thereafter. The racing comeback of Mercedes‑Benz ended spectacularly: Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling achieved a double victory. With the improved version of the Streamliner, Fangio also won the 1955 Italian Grand Prix.

From 1969, Mercedes‑Benz built a series of experimental and record vehicles with the internal designation C 111. The C 111-III diesel record car from 1978 was consistently aerodynamically optimised. The vehicle is narrower than its predecessors, has more wheelbase, full fairing of the wheels, and a long trailing rear. In this way, the C_d value of the C 111 was reduced to 0.18. During record runs in Nardò, the Streamliner reached speeds of over 300 km/h. The nine world records of the C 111-III also include the one over 1,000 miles (1,609 km) with an average speed of 319 km/h.

Strictly speaking, the Concept IAA (2015) embodies two cars in one: a four-door coupé with a fascinating design on the one hand and an aerodynamics world record holder with a C_dvalue of 0.19 on the other. In addition, from 80 km/h, the study automatically switches from design mode to aerodynamics mode and changes its shape through numerous active aerodynamics measures: eight segments extend from the rear and lengthen it; extendable front flaps in the front bumper improve the flow around the bow and the front wheel arches; the active rims change their concavity; and the fin in the front bumper moves backwards, optimising the flow on the underbody.

With a C_d value of 0,17^[1] the VISION EQXX (2022) offers the wind even less air resistance than an American Football. The technology platform owes its outstanding C_d value to the streamlined basic shape, the innovative, aerodynamically neutral cooling plate in the underbody, and the elaborate integration of passive and active aero elements into the body.

As part of the CONCEPT AMG GT XX technology program, research was conducted into a fundamentally new technology: “Aerodynamics by wire”. For the first time, the research team was able to use an electric plasma actuator to create a targeted flow separation on a body curve at the rear. Normally, this requires a physical, geometric spoiler lip on the outside of the vehicle. This highly innovative solution reduces air resistance, improves aero performance, and enables completely new design freedom.

The First Ever Indianapolis 500 (1911) Film