The Mercedes-Benz B 200 Natural Gas Drive awaits its debut

Mercedes-Benz has announced its intention to produce a more eco-friendly model. In the form of the B-Class, the B 200 Natural Gas Drive is scheduled to be presented this September at the Paris Motor Show.

The B-200 is the first model to be constructed on the ENERGY SPACE modular body concept that consists of a partial double floor beneath the rear seat bench which makes room for the natural gas container (which can hold up to 125 liters of natural gas).

Mercedes-Benz officials say that the B200 Natural Gas Drive, has a fuel consumption of only 4.2 liters /100 km while running only on natural gas and CO2 emissions of only 115 g/km.  The vehicle also has a range of up to 500 km in natural gas mode.

Under the bonnet the B-200 has a 156 HP – 115 kW engine that can make the vehicle sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 9.1 seconds and reach a top speed of  200 km/h. The engine can be connected to either a manual gearbox or Mercedes’s 7G-DCT dual clutch transmission.

The greener B-Class has 16 percent less CO2 emissions and around 50 percent less fuel costs compared to the gasoline model.  Mercedes says that the vehicle will arrive in dealerships in early 2013.

Source: Mercedes-Benz