New Car Can Lean Into Curves, Literally

cartechboy (2660665) writes "You know how motorcycle riders lean into the corners, sometimes even touching their knee to the ground? Mercedes-Benz has developed new technology that replicates that sensation by leaning the car into bends. It's called Dynamic Curve and it's part of the Active Body control suspension system on the new 2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe. In turns, special plunger cylinders raise the suspension struts and lower the opposite side, depending on the direction of the bend. This has the result of tilting the car body slightly towards the inside of the corner, countering centrifugal cornering forces. Mercedes says it's not design for increasing cornering speeds, but increasing pleasure for the driver and passengers."

Comments

Re:Gimmick

[stoploss]

There is no such thing as centrifugal force... when you talk like that you basically show why dumbasses shouldn't be involved in car design.

Stock XKCD counterpoint: Centrifugal Force

Re: Poorly Designed Roadways Addressed By This

[Lucky_Norseman]

Some drivers did not like it. Others loved it for roadholding in curves that exceeded any other street-legal car. The Citroen Xantia Activa still holds the speed record in the Teknikens Värld Moose test. (The one that cause Mercedes to halt the launch of the A-class) A 2000 Citroen Xantia faster than the latest Porsche. The link to the table seems to be down right now, but it should be on http://teknikensvarld.se/algte...