The first production-ready ABS from Continental was the size of a 5-liter gas can and weighed 11.5 kilograms.
And all that in just two kilograms and taking up the same amount of space as a single-lens reflex camera (SLR). Continental anti-lock brake systems are still based on this principle, with the modularity of the equipment variants (ABS, ABS + TCS, ESC) optimally meeting customer requirements.Īn ABS today is equipped with up to 50 additional and safety functions, such as the automatic release of the parking brake when starting off, hill start assist or as an important component of adaptive cruise control systems. In this new arrangement, which has become the worldwide standard, the engine is located at the top, the valve block in the middle and the electronics below, more or less as the base. Continental's developers took another developmental leap forward in 1995, when an electronic stability control (ESC) was integrated into the MK 20 system for the first time and furthermore a groundbreaking design was developed.
#Anti lock brakes series
An important milestone in the development of ABS was the later MK IV system, which went into series production in 1989 and for the first time also included an electronic brake force distribution system, making mechanical-hydraulic components superfluous. A traction control system (TCS) was also integrated shortly afterward. The MK II was the first ABS on the market to combine the brake function, brake booster, hydraulic control and anti-lock brake system into one compact unit. The microprocessor solution gave us a head start of several years." It was also considerably more flexible than other solutions and could therefore be quickly adapted to different vehicle concepts, such as models with front-wheel or all-wheel drive. Helmut Fennel, who at the time held a key function in promoting the use of microprocessors for ABS, explains the decisive advantage of the technology as follows: "Due to its programmability, our system could be quickly and optimally validated both for braking maneuvers on rough roads, that is, with a high coefficient of friction, and for those on slippery roads, such as on ice in winter. Its installation in the factory was another novelty, since at that time ABS was usually only available as an optional feature for a significant surcharge. In North America it was available for the Lincoln Continental, while in Europe this safety technology became a standard feature of the Ford Scorpio. This finally started in 1984, as a technological breakthrough: unlike competing systems that were already on the market, Teves, now part of Continental, launched the MK II, the world's first microprocessor-controlled ABS for passenger cars on the road.
The oil crisis and the subsequent weakening of the economy, which hit the automotive market particularly hard, prevented series production for years. However, the technology was initially only used in 36 test vehicles for the Swedish police.
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