A legend in black
The STIHL MS 500i Centennial Edition is dedicated to everyone who works with STIHL power tools every day and in any weather. It represents 100 years of engineering and steadfast teamwork that overcomes all challenges. In this video three people from the project team explain how a technologically leading chainsaw was made into an even more highly coveted icon.
For people who work with STIHL power tools every day, as well as fans of the STIHL brand, the 100th anniversary of the company brings something really special. A strictly limited special edition of the revolutionary STIHL MS 500i, the world’s first chainsaw with electronic injection: The STIHL MS 500i Centennial Edition - in black, with contrast gloss and matt design and orange highlights, featuring premium cast metal elements and a digitally printed bar. A dedicated interdisciplinary team drawn from a variety of specialist departments and countries set themselves the challenge of embodying the anniversary in the form of a unique collector's item – and in doing so also dared to explore new ground.
Technologically cutting edge
Even the standard STIHL MS 500i is a showcase study in teamwork. In 2018 an interdisciplinary project group successfully developed the world’s first petrol chainsaw with electronically controlled fuel injection; in 2019 the STIHL MS 500i followed – the first series-produced chainsaw with “injection”. The technology ensures optimal engine output and outstanding acceleration with low weight. It means chain speeds of 100 kilometers per hour can be reached in just 0.25 seconds from standstill.
kilometers per hour chain speed is reached by the 500i in just 0.25 seconds.
The bar of the STIHL MS 500i Centennial Edition is printed with the 100th-anniversary logo.
The idea of direct injection is actually much older and can be traced all the way back to Hans Peter Stihl himself, no less. In 1957 he graduated from the University of Technology in Stuttgart, where he specialized in mechanical engineering. The subject of his thesis: “Conversion of a chainsaw engine to gasoline injection”. While the time for a power tool with direct injection had not yet arrived back then, STIHL engineers kept the idea alive in the back of their minds. When a number of research projects involving the integration of electronics and software engineering were launched in the 1990s, the topic of gasoline injection came to the fore again. The rest is history.
