M Type X

I'm still perplexed how people think luxury cars need all this technocrap menus and so on. Automatic climate control shouldn't be so difficult. And apparently all the money in the world can't learn yous to read a map!!!

HAL said he'll teach me "Hooked on Phonics" though. And keep my coffee warm and help ET phone home, while videoconferencing with Donald Rumsfeld. h: So that's how I defend my purchase. I just hope it's Greentooth compatible for when Bluetooth becomes obsolete.

AcuraFanatic

I like the current styling of the S-Class a lot. If anything, I'd like to see them just improve reliability.

M Type X

No can do. They have to fugly-fy it and increase the price. Reliability and simplicity? Not part of the formula!

MrFatbooty

(click for bigger versions)

Here are latest photos of various Mercedes S-Class prototypes - one of them caught almost undisguised, another one returning from an apparently heavy duty test in the mud plus a very first shot of the undisguised new dashboard.

The current Mercedes S-Class has been on the market for some time, and with new rivals like the Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, Jaguar XJ, VW Phaeton and Lexus LS 430 improving the class standard, DaimlerChrysler is straining to put all these competitors back in their place with the upcoming S.

Code named W 221, the newcomer will be sportier though again bigger. As can be seen on the prototype shots, the car is indeed considerably longer than the current S-Class -nearly as large as the king-sized S-Class built between 1991 and 1998. Styling is sleek, with the trunk lid and rear end appearing somewhat like that on the Maybach.

As could be seen as a concept at the last Frankfurt Motor Show, DaimlerChrysler is developing a hybrid system that could appear on the next S-Class. But at launch, traditional engines will be available in a range from a 3.5-liter V-6 to a 4.0-liter V-12. Two diesels will be offered: a 3.2-liter V-6 and a 4.0-liter V-8. The 4Matic all-wheel-drive system will return, as will an AMG version with a 6.3-liter V-8 and a promised 600-hp power peak.

The next generation S-Class is scheduled for launch in autumn 2005 at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=7868

iNteGraz92

that doesn't scream luxury flagship to me at all

redgoober4life

photos look a bit doctored.

MrFatbooty

It's a face-off! This picture reveals how the front of Mercedes' eagerly awaited next-generation S-Class will look. Although partly covered with black plastic cladding, it is obvious the new design is sleeker and more sculpted than that of the current car.

This official picture gives the world its first glimpse of the finished model, which will hit British showrooms in the autumn. As well as a new nose, the S-Class boasts a raft of clever hi-tech safety kit.

The current model was the first car with Pre-safe. This system senses an imminent impact using data from sensors, and automatically moves the electric seats to the safest position, closes the sunroof and pre-tensions the seatbelts. In the next S-Class, the set-up is enhanced and shuts the side windows, too. It also moves the front and rear backrests, and inflates the side bolsters to anchor and cushion occupants.

This function is a development of the Dynamic Multi-Contour Seat, already used in range-topping Mercs, which alters the chair's shape according to cornering forces. However, the idea of the inflatable bolsters has been expanded to keep occupants further away from the site of a side impact.

Another development on the new car is Brake-Assist Plus. This uses the radar beam of the Distronic adaptive cruise control to boost braking pressure if you're about to crash into a car in front. A similar system has just been launched in the new Lexus GS430, but instead of applying maximum braking, the Mercedes set-up continuously alters the pressure as required. Meanwhile, a second, short-range radar, which scans an area 80 degrees wide ahead of the car, looks out for impacts from other angles.

The maker used its Berlin-based driving simulator - the most realistic device owned by any car manufacturer - to develop Brake-Assist Plus. Tests, which including braking from 81mph to avoid hitting stationary traffic, showed that it reduced the number of collisions from 44 per cent to 11 per cent.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/55...smash_hit.html

MtViewGuy88

I think for the US market, the initial engine choices will be 5.0-liter V-8 and 6.0-liter V12, both with direct fuel injection for better fuel efficiency than the current models. It will be interesting to see if M-B offers the 4.0-liter V-8 turbodiesel for American customers, especially with the availability of low-sulfur diesel starting September 2006. After all, back in the 1980's M-B did fairly well with the 300SD Turbo Diesel version of the S-class sedans back then.

MrFatbooty

After three years of W221 S-Class spy photos Mercedes-Benz finally enters into the final stages of testing. With the first official photos of the New S-Class arriving next Monday these latest spy photos were captured this morning just outside the Nürburgring. Showing almost all of the camouflage removed except for the most defining components we can see the body shape clearly emerging.

With obvious styling cues taken from the Maybach the New S-Class is eager to show its inherited royal threads. In this role the new S-Class bridges the gap with an even more emphatic bond between Maybach and Mercedes. Snarling V-shaped hood, muscle-flared wheel arches, streamlined sail panel (upper C-pillar) and raised luggage lid all scream Maybach 57 but with an aggressive sporting edge.

World renowned for luxury the S-Class has been Mercedes' poster child. However, the question is whether Mercedes is taking on a more sporting approach. Previously bashed in the media for being "no BMW" in the sporting sense could the S-Class be making an attempt to remedy this? If this aggressive body design is any indication of their intentions then it's going to get really interesting to see how Mercedes position themselves. With new engines on the horizon perhaps high-performance subsidiary AMG will play a bigger role. With official photos and initial details coming next Monday the 20th June we will find out soon enough.

http://www.germancarfans.com/spyphot...id/6050614.001