Have you ever thought that the cars we know as “old-fashioned” used to be the king of their own times? Maybe yes, maybe no. We assure you that some of them were actually the king of their own times, just like the 1991 Mercedes-Benz F 100.
The car was a research vehicle and was a pioneer for many systems we see on the modern cars today. Although it looks a little weird, but it was technologically rich. The model was introduced on 2 January 1991 at NAIAS.
The model surprised everyone, since it was like portal to future. Back then most of the cars were pretty simple and introducing the 1991 Mercedes-Benz F 100 was like a vision of Eutopia.
There we phone buttons on the steering wheel, gas discharges headlights, phone-based voice recognition, electronic tyre pressure monitoring system and many other cool technologies (cool for 1991, standard for now). Most of these new systems actually came to the automotive market years later.
The F1 00 focused on comfort and convenience of the passengers as well as their safety. The designers and engineers spent much of their time researching to make and develop systems which were the best for their future customers. For example, the rear seats were protected by the rear wheel arches in order to keep the passengers safe.
The model was introduced with front-wheel drive capability, which was pretty rare at that time. The engine choices included a combustion engine powered through hydrogen. That means the company wanted to become one the greenest companies even 30 years ago.
Many of the standard feature we see today belonged to 30 years ago, and we should thank the F 100 for introducing them to the industry and the world way ahead of its time.