The W221 Mercedes-Benz will début at the end of 2005. Sources say the car’s front will have a new look thanks to its GST concept-like multifunction headlights and a Maybach-inspired rear.
The W221 Mercedes-Benz will début at the end of 2005. Sources say the car’s front will have a new look thanks to its GST concept-like multifunction headlights and a Maybach-inspired rear.
According to a CAR correspondent, the new S-Class will share its platform with the forthcoming R-Class and offer four-wheel drive, a new air suspension system with integrated damping, active steering linked to ESP and electro-hydraulic brakes with ceramic discs.
The range’s petrol-powered engines will all feature direct injection and a four-valves-per-cylinder configuration. There will be a 192 kW 3,5-litre V6, a reworked five-litre 300 kW V8 and the current 5,5-litre twin-turbo V12 unit. The 3,5-litre V6 and four-litre V8 diesel units will produce 172 kW and 205 kW respectively. The new 7G-Tronic auto box was also likely to be offered.
Advanced multifunction headlights – as showcased on the R-Class precursor, the GST – will provide the grand saloon with a new front end. Another feature will be a bonnet and grille complying with new official standards for pedestrian safety.
As for the rear, some believe that the S-Class rear end will be heavily influenced by the current boot and rear-light cluster design of the Maybach limousine (as this digitally-enhanced picture suggests), but others say that a rear-end similar to that seen on the Tokyo Motor Show star, the Mercedes-Benz F500 Mind, could be also be a possibility.
Active body control (ABC), currently offered only as a high-cost option, is likely to be standard. The new version will reportedly use four control elements, and will require a 42-volt electrical system, which will also allow an automatic stop-start system, as pioneered in Japan on Toyota’s Crown Mild Hybrid.
Inside, the new S-Class will get a revised COMAND system dynamic multi-contour seats (from the E-Class) front and rear, an electro-chromatic glass roof taken from the Maybach, a night vision system with infrared-camera on the inside rear-view mirror, multimedia entertainment and electrically height-adjustable armrests. There will be new intelligent airbag systems, including units that inflate along the side windows.
For more insight to Mercedes-Benz’s plans for future models, read the feature in the December edition of CAR magazine, on sale today.
