2001 Mercedes-Benz F 400 Carving Concept

• The 2001 Mercedes-Benz F 400 Carving Concept introduced active camber control, allowing outer wheels to tilt up to 20 degrees during cornering.

• Its unique dual-diameter wheels and asymmetrical tires enhanced lateral stability by 30%, achieving up to 1.28 g of lateral acceleration.

• The concept featured advanced technologies like steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire, and a hydropneumatic suspension system, all housed in a carbon-fiber body.

Design That Thinks Beyond the Surface

Seen from the side, the F 400 Carving has that classic concept car stance — all long hood, short tail, and exaggerated fenders. It’s got a low-slung presence, one that feels planted even when standing still. Gullwing doors borrow DNA from the 300SL, but the rest is all business. No fluff inside either — two seats, metal accents, and four-point harnesses hint at its testbed purpose.

The most dramatic visual cue? The way the wheels tilt. Those oversized wheel arches aren’t just for show — they make room for the 20-degree camber movement during cornering. It’s visually jarring in a good way. Feels like a machine in motion even when static.

Active Camber in Action

At its core, this concept was built around one idea: letting the wheels lean into a turn like a motorcyclist. The system uses hydraulic actuators to angle the outer wheels inward up to 20 degrees, enhancing grip and lateral stability by roughly 30%. In real-world numbers, that translates to up to 1.28 g in cornering forces — impressive by any measure, especially for 2001.

There’s a 3.2-liter V6 under the hood, making 221 horsepower (165 kW) and 232 lb-ft (315 Nm) of torque. Not outrageous, but performance wasn’t the headline here. Power was sent to the rear wheels via a 6-speed sequential manual — again, fitting for a test mule, not a production-ready cruiser.

High-Tech Hardware, Minus the Buzzwords

The F 400 was a playground for wire-based control. Steering? Steer-by-wire. Braking? Brake-by-wire. Suspension? Hydropneumatic, adjusting to road conditions in real time. It was all experimental back then, but bits and pieces of this tech now quietly live inside modern Mercedes models.

Lighting was handled by fiber optics — xenon lamps sent light through bundles to compact, sharp housings. Subtle but smart packaging that previewed later LED transitions.

Why It Mattered Then (And Still Kind Of Does)

Mercedes never built a production version of the F 400 Carving, and honestly, they didn’t need to. It served its role — proving out how dramatic camber angles and advanced controls could enhance performance. It also helped the brand dip its toes into next-gen tech that would eventually trickle into mainstream models.

In a market moving fast toward electrification and software-driven controls, this old-school V6 concept still feels relevant — not for its powertrain, but for its ideas.

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