German marquee Mercedes-Benz is known for their beautiful mean machines and the manufacturer has pushed the limits of its craftsmanship by unveiling the new S-Class.

The new flagship saloon combines comfort, space, efficiency, safety, quality and connectivity, which is ready to take the four door saloons to new heights. The new Mercedes S-Class will be replacing two different model lines previous generation S-class and Mercedes-Benz?s discontinued Maybach brand and its 57 and 62 limousines. The new S-Class will be made available in 5-different body types including short wheelbase saloon, long wheelbase saloon, extra long wheelbase saloon, coup? and cabriolet.

Mercedes Benz New S Class Pictures

The new S-class has been developed under the internal codename W222. The new S-class has got a lot of change but one can easily recognize that it is evolution of previous generation S-class. It hosts a lot of new changes but holds obvious heritage in many elements. Most of the cosmetic job has been done on the exteriors to match up with modern designs. “The sophisticated design of the S-Class has always been an expression of luxury and automotive grandeur of its era. And our new S-Class continues this tradition. With its classic architecture and flowing silhouette, it is a modern embodiment of sensual clarity. The design draws a line from the sophisticated, progressive design idiom to the classic elegance of our 1930s cars – intelligence that speaks to the emotions. Stylish sportiness and sensual forms in synthesis with timeless clarity and effortless superiority make the S-Class a true design icon,” says design Chief Gorden Wagener.?

The new S-class is more on aerodynamic efficiency, a trait, which has been followed in all recently launched Mercs. Moreover, Mercedes claimed that the S-class boasts an impressively low drag coefficient of just 0.24. Mercedes S-class boasts the traditional Merc grille with added chrome merged with larger headlamps and up to 56 individual LEDs, a heavily structured front bumper, more contoured bonnet, less prominent wheel arch flares, and a signature dropping line along the flanks make it a treat for eyes.

Mercede-Benz hasn?t altered the wheelbase of the car; the new S-class uses the same 3165mm wheelbase as its predecessor. Dimensionally, the new car is 21mm longer, 29mm wider and 11mm higher than before at 5246mm, 1899mm and 1491mm. The new rear seats now come with an optional reclining function, which has lead to a 30-litre reduction in boot space at 530 litres. To keep it light-weighted, Mercedes has used lighter metal at the entire outer skin, including the roof, which is now made out of aluminium.? On the other hand, the internal structure uses a higher percentage of hot formed multi-gauge steel in a move that sees a reduction in kerb weight among some models. All these changes results in a kerb weight of 1900kg for S350 BlueTEC tips, which is 20kg below its predecessor. At the same time, Mercedes-Benz claims that S-class boast the most rigid body structure in its class.

The Mercedes-Benz S-class will be offered in four different powertrains including petrol, petrol-electric, diesel and diesel-electric, which all will be offered globally. All four will come mated with a seven-speed automatic gearbox from the outgoing model carrying revisions that, Mercedes claims, provides smoother, faster and more intuitive shift action. The S-class will use a 3.0-litre V6 diesel with 254bhp in the S350 BlueTEC and a 2.1-litre four-cylinder diesel with 204bhp in combination with a 20kW electric motor for a total output of 228bhp in the S300 BlueTEC Hybrid. An upgrade version will also use Mercedes-Benz?s existing twin-turbocharged 4.7-litre V8 petrol engine that produces 20bhp more than its predecessor at 449bhp in the S500. ?A high performance S-63 AMG is also in pipeline, which will be powered by a twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre V8 that is likely to offer a standard 536bhp, or 563bhp in combination with an optional performance package.

The S63 AMGs will be most likely to be a rear-wheel drive, but selected markets will get S63s with Mercedes-Benz?s four-wheel drive 4Matic system, which will be badged S63 AMG 4Matic. On the other hand, some international markets will also receive the S400 Hybrid, which uses a revised version of the naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 petrol unit used in the outgoing model in combination with a 20kW electric motor for an overall output of 321bhp ? an increase of 26bhp on the old S400 Hybrid. In 2014, Mercedes-Benz is also planning to bring a new S600 model to the global line-up, which will get a revised version of the outgoing model?s twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre V12 developing around 530bhp. In 612bhp 6.0-litre guise, this engine will also power a range-topping S65 AMG flagship.?

If you talk about gadgets and features S-class comes with a long list of equipment, the most interesting is the Mercedes-Benz?s so-called Magic Body Control (MBC) system. It will be available as an option, which uses cameras mounted within the windscreen to scan the road and detect surface irregularities before automatically adjusting the damping characteristics to reduce body movements, better control roll and pitch and generally improve overall ride comfort. Other gadgets include a pair of dash-mounted 12.3-inch TFT screens, out of which, one displays instrumentation, while the other functions as a sat-nav, multimedia and settings screen. ?

The cabin temperature and comfort is looked after by ‘Thermotronic’ climate control system, which can filter out viruses, dust and spores. Myriad advanced options are also available, such as a ‘Comfort’ package that allows the seats to mimic a hot-stone massage, night vision, adaptive cruise control, a range-topping 24-speaker sound system and a built-in atomiser that diffuses scents into the cabin. In an recent interview with CarDekho, Mr. Kern, Mercedes-Benz India?s MD and CEO revealed that the company could launch the S-class by 2013-end.?

By CarDekho.com