Calling all CEOs! The new Mercedes S-Class will be revealed on 29 January
The standard-bearer for all luxury cars is set to receive significant changes inside, outside and under the metal
CEOs and business tycoons everywhere should mark their calendars, because the facelifted Mercedes S-Class will be unveiled on 29 January and the brand’s CEO is promising it will take “sophisticated, understated luxury to the next level”.
More than 50 per cent of the components on the S-Class – around 2,700 – are either new or refined for the updated version. That includes the three-pointed star on the bonnet, which CEO Ola Källenius has confirmed will be illuminated for the first time ever.
If you prefer your three-pointed stars unlit, through the Auto Express Buy A Car service you can save up to £8,500 on the existing, already incredibly luxurious Mercedes S-Class.
The updated car’s grille will be larger than before too, and have a “new status-oriented, prestige type of look” flanked by new headlights that incorporate the company’s three-pointed star emblem, as do the new tail-lights.
Inside, the new S-Class will also be the first to feature Mercedes’ new MB.OS operating system. It’s referred to as a “superbrain” for the car, designed to provide a more intuitive and personal experience for customers. It will power the MBUX infotainment set-up and we suspect some big new screens.
Mercedes is also expanding the ‘Manufaktur Made to Measure’ personalisation options for S-Class customers, and Källenius promises the car is ready for Level 4 autonomous driving. “As a matter of fact, we are already running the first pilots on the streets.
“The sky is the limit here,” he said. “From the most sophisticated driving-assistance systems where you’re still in control, but the car helps you negotiate any situation, to the car literally driving itself.”
New V8 power and intelligent comfort-boosting suspension
Mercedes has made improvements to every powertrain in the S-Class line-up, with perhaps the biggest being a new flat-plane-crank V8 engine. This M 177 Evo unit will feature in the S 580 4MATIC, which Auto Express got to experience first-hand when we went for a passenger ride in the new car.
The M 177 Evo will deliver 530bhp and 750Nm of torque, with improved turbocharger housings and fuel injection system designed to make the V8 more responsive, refined and efficient, while mild-hybrid assistance allows for incredibly smooth start-stop functionality.
A six-cylinder petrol engine will be available in the S 450 4MATIC and S 500 4MATIC, which feature an ‘overtorque’ function to assist when accelerating hard or overtaking, and the plug-in hybrid S 580 e that will be able to cover more than 60 miles in EV mode.
Meanwhile, the S 350 d 4MATIC and S 450 d 4MATIC will feature a six-cylinder diesel that’s been developed to meet future emissions legislation and has the first electrically heated catalytic converter on a production car, to help clean harmful pollutants from the exhaust faster and more efficiently.
Another advance is a new ‘Intelligent Damper Control’ function for the S-Class’s air-suspension system. This uses data collected from other Mercedes cars on the road to anticipate potholes, speed bumps or other imperfections, and will increase the damping to preserve the car’s luxurious ride comfort.
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