It has not been a smooth road for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, though it ruled for decades. Its first serious competitor was the 2nd generation BMW 7-series and then who can forget the Lexus LS. No wonder Maybach came into the picture, but then again that is a closed chapter.
Considering this, it was a very big night for Mercedes-Benz as it pulled the wraps off the metal in Hamburg to reveal to the world its all-new S-Class. Mercedes-Benz engineers and programmers have worked tirelessly to pack in a lot of punch into the new S-Class.
Both the standard and the long wheelbase versions have grown a bit in size. The standard S-Class (W222) is now 20 mm longer, 28 mm wider and 25 mm lower. The total adds to the luxury car becoming 5,116 mm long , 1,899 mm wide and 1,496 mm tall.
As for the long wheelbase S-Class (V222), the height and width remain the same but it measures 5,246 mm in length(similar to the model it replaces.)
But this slight increase in the size has not affected the weight. In fact, the Mercedes S-Class is now up to 100 kgs lighter, while the torsional rigidity of its body was increased by 50%.
The changes were possible because of the extended use of aluminium. All the aforementioned items are shaped into a body that comes with a drag coefficient of 0.24.
The S-Class oozes luxury with the traditional grille and added chrome. It gets larger headlamps and more expressive internal graphics as well. The lighting itself consists of 500 LED’s out of which 300 are inside the car.
The engines planned for the S-Class are the 3.0-litre V6 254 bhp churning diesel in the S350 BlueTEC and a 2.1-litre four-cylinder 204 bhp diesel with a combination of a 20kW electric motor for an output of 228bhp in the S300 BlueTEC Hybrid.
Mercedes-Benz also plans to upgrade the existing 4.7-litre twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine that produces 449 bhp in the S500. The S63 AMG version is still to be revealed and we might see the 5.5-litre 536 bhp churning V8 engine making its way into this fast and long car.
Engineering excellence is achieved in the form of the multi-link Airmatic air suspension that has been entirely redesigned, and it can be fitted with a road-sensing system that pre-loads the shocks for the road surface detected.
The S-class also comes with electro-mechanical steering but while the chassis will allow for high cornering speeds, the main focus of the S-Class will remain luxury and safety.
The interior comes with a pair of 12.3-inch TFT screens, one displaying instrumentation, the other functions such as a satellite-navigation, multimedia and settings. The new thermotronic climate control system, which filters out dust and spores, also makes its way into the car. Other luxuries include; seats which mimic a hot-stone massage, night vision, adaptive cruise control, a 24-speaker sound system and a built-in atomiser that diffuses scents into the cabin.
Mercedes says that its latest and most ambitious vehicle aims at ‘effortless superiority’ and India will be able to get a taste of this luxury soon.
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