Mercedes F400 Carving
The active camber control in the F 400 Carving paves the way for an equally new asymmetrical-tread tyre concept. When the two-seater car is cornering, the outer wheels tilt inwards, leaving only the inner area of these tyres in contact with the road. This area of the tread is slightly rounded off. Meanwhile both the tread pattern and the rubber blend have been specially selected to ensure highly dynamic and extremely safe cornering. When driving straight ahead, however, it is the outer areas of the tyres that are in contact with the road. These areas have a tried-and-tested car tread pattern, offering excellent high-speed and low-noise performance.
Two different concepts therefore come to fruition in a single tyre, thanks to active camber control. The research vehicle's "Carving" epithet symbolises the new technology, evoking images of the high-speed winter sport in which adepts perform sharp turns on a specially-shaped high-grip ski.
The F 400 Carving is something of a mobile research laboratory for the Stuttgart-based automotive engineers. They will be using it to investigate the undoubted further potential of this new chassis technology: besides of-fering excellent directional stability during cornering, the new technology ensures a much higher level of active safety in the event of an emergency. By way of example, if there is a risk of skidding, the wheel camber is in-creased by an appropriate degree. The resultant gain in lateral stability significantly enhances the effect of ESP®, the Electronic Stability Program. If the research car needs to be braked in an emergency, all four of its wheels can be tilted in next to no time, thus shortening the stopping dis-tance from 100 km/h by a good five metres. -Daimler Chrysler
