A Testament to German Engineering in Engine Development

Mercedes, which did not rank in Volumes 1-3, took first and second place. Notably, the sportySLKand the heavyweight minivan exceeding two tons,V-Class,make for an interesting lineup. First, the SLK ranked first despite its lightweight 1,500kg body for this class, while equipped with a high-performance 3.5-liter engine producing 305ps. It's nearly at the point of breaking 200g/km. In contrast, the V-Class, which secured second place, uses the same 3,497cc '272' V6 DOHC engine as the SLK (bore x stroke: 92.9 x 86.0 mm), but it's tuned to deliver power and torque at lower RPMs to suit its character. This allows it to achieve 216g/km despite its considerable weight.

Third place goes to the top model of the Porsche Cayman, theCayman R,which was released last year and received extremely high praise.Boxster SpyderIt's a high-performance model equipped with the same 3.4-liter flat-six engine as the Boxster Spyder, producing a maximum output of 330ps. Its CO2 emissions are also 218g/km, the same as the Boxster Spyder.

What this class demonstrates is that the era of simply pursuing power, even in sporty models, is over. Manufacturers like Mercedes and Porsche have already developed engines targeting 200g/km. The engine development technology that balances driving pleasure with environmental consideration is truly characteristic of German cars.