This first drive marks only the first real test on the simulator which is supposed to be the most advanced in the industry. The simulator features a photorealistic 360 degrees screen, fast electric power system and a twelve-meters long rail for transverse movements.
According to Daimler, the sim is so advanced (it ought to be, given the EUR160 million being spent on it), that it uses the virtual breaking and generates some of the power it needs to operate. The simulator will be used to test pretty much all there is to test in a car, in some of the most challenging operating modes, without endangering the lives of the drivers.
"The new driving simulator enables us to reproduce highly dynamic driving manoeuvres such as lane-changes even more realistically, and to research the behaviour of the driver and vehicle in road traffic even more intensively," said Weber.
“The facility is not able or intended to replace real test drives completely, but the simulator makes it possible to test the systems and components of future Mercedes models in all development phases.”
The Sindelfingen is not only about this simulator thought. Pretty much all the required tools to test a car are in place, including a wind tunnel.
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