Mercedes-Benz will replace its current Active Body Control with a new system to improve ride and handling, under the name “Magic Body Control”. The system is based on a 20 year old technology that originated in high-level auto racing, until it was banned for being too potent.
“It had its first try back at the start of the 1990s with the Sauber Mercedes team of the World Sports car Championship Group C and a young driver named Michael Schumacher,” said Mercedes Vice President Hans Multhaupt. Using special bushings and hydraulic technology, the MBC system, co-developed with ZF, will eliminate up to 80 percent of the typical Noise, Vibration and Harshness seen on large cars.
The system is expected to debut around 2013, in time for the next generation S-Class and SL-Class cars.