Mercedes-Benz S-Class
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The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is an expensive luxury automobile designed and built by DaimlerChrysler in Stuttgart, Germany.
Models are designated by the size of their engine, such as the S 430 or S 600. S-Class vehicles marketed in the United States are named similarly, but without the space: the S430 and S600, for example.
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History
Mercedes_S-KLasse_S_320_CDI.jpg
S65.JPG
Since the model range's unofficial inception in the late 1950s with the so-called "Fintail" models, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has been the de facto standard of what a top-of-the-range luxury automobile should be.
Fintail
- See Mercedes-Benz W111 for details
The W111 "Fintail" series debuted in 1959. Initially powered by a line of straight-6 engines (the M180 and M127), it set a new standard for luxury. The series was augmented with a line of three litre cars in 1961, the W112. Note that a smaller Fintail line, the W110, was also produced at that time and became the predecessor to today's E-Class.
W108/W109
- See Mercedes-Benz W108 for details
The "S-Class" name was born with the W108/W109 series of 1965. These sedans got V8 power for the first time in 1968 with the muscle car 300SEL 6.3.
W116
- See Mercedes-Benz W116 for details
The S-Class continued in the 1970s with the W116 series. Produced from 1973 through 1980, the most notable W116 was the high-performance, limited-production 450SEL 6.9. This model boasted the largest engine ever installed in a postwar Mercedes-Benz until the 7.3 L AMG V12 of the 1990s.
W126
- See Mercedes-Benz W126 for details
For the 1980s, the S-Class was updated as the W126 series. By this time, most were powered by V8 engines, though Diesel and straight-6 models lingered on. The SEC coupe body style was also introduced at this time. The W126 line lasted from 1981 through 1991.
W140
- See Mercedes-Benz W140 for details
The S-Class was redesigned for the 1992 model year as the W140 series. Once again, a large SEC coupe was available, and a V12 engine joined the lineup for the first time with 1992's 600SEL. All Mercedes model names were rationalized in 1994, with the SE/SEL/SEC cars becoming the S-Class. Production of W140 models lasted through 1999.
W220
- See Mercedes-Benz W220 for details
The 2000 W220 S-Class is the version of the S-Class in current production. New features included Airmatic air suspension, COMAND (Cockpit Management and Data System), and Active Ventilated seats, which use miniature fans in the seats to move air through perforations in the upholstery to cool the passenger's backs. The introduction of the W220 saw the departure of the large coupes to their own line, the C215 CL-Class.
W221
- See Mercedes-Benz W221 for details
The S-Class will be replaced for the 2006/2007 model year with a new version, the W221. It features more angular styling, wheel arches, and a CL-like rounded roofline. The rear styling features a separate trunklid above the rear fenders, as on the controversial BMW 7 Series. Infrared night vision is a major technology advance — it is much less complex than Cadillac's cancelled thermal system.
Engines:
- S350 — 3.5 L V6, 200 kW (272 PS/268 hp)
- S500 — 4.7 L V8, 285 kW (388 PS/382 hp)
- S600 — 5.5 L twin-turbo V12, 380 kW (517 PS/510 hp)
- S300 CDI — 3.0 L turbo V6, 170 kW (231 PS/228 hp)
Current Models
The company's philosophy of "engineering first, cost second" has pushed the boundaries of performance and technology to new heights, culminating in today's V8-powered S 430 and S 500, V12-powered S 600 and high-performance S 55 AMG and S 65 AMG. The S 65 AMG, the most powerful "S" to date, is produced in limited quantity. The S-Class sedans range in price from just over US$76,000 to over US$200,000, and have a long list of available features.
The S 63 AMG was built in very limited quantity in November 2001. It was sold only in Europe and Asia, and was available exclusively through AMG.
As the Mercedes-Benz flagship, the S-Class is surpassed in size only by the ultra-expensive luxury sedans wearing the resurrected Maybach nameplate, themselves based on the S-Class. The CL-Class is the only class (not including Maybach vehicles) more expensive than the S-Class.
In the 2004 model year, the S-Class' powertrains comprise the following petrol-burning engines:
- An overhead camshaft-V8, generating 400 Nm of torque at 3,000 rpm
- An overhead camshaft-V8, generating 460 Nm of torque at 2,700 rpm
- A supercharged overhead camshaft-V8, generating 700 Nm of torque at 2,750 rpm
- A turbocharged overhead camshaft-V12, generating 800 Nm of torque at 1,800 rpm
(Consumer Guide, 2003)
In addition to either a manual or automatic transmission, and a rear-wheel or all-wheel drive system (dubbed 4MATIC). A new seven-speed automatic transmission was introduced in the 2004 model year (Consumer Guide, 2003).
All S-Classes are currently built in Sindelfingen, Germany. The very first 1992 Mercedes S-Class rolled off the assembly line on August 6, 1991. The last 1999 S-Class rolled off the assembly line on July 9, 1998. The very first 2000 S-Class rolled off the assembly line on September 9, 1998. The aforementioned 6.9 had its own assembly line in Stuttgart.
From 1999, the V12-equipped cars feature a cylinder deactivation system called Active Cylinder Control.
United States S-Class Models
(Data for year 2005 models)
- S430 Sedan
- USD$76,020 MSRP
- Engine: 4.3 L 24-valve V8 engine making 205 kW (275 hp SAE net) at 5750 rpm
- S500 Sedan
- USD$84,620 MSRP
- Engine: 5.0 L 24-valve V8 engine making 225 kW (302 hp SAE net) at 5600 rpm
- S55 AMG
- S600 Sedan
- USD$125,470 MSRP
- Engine: 5.5 L twin-turbocharged 36-valve V12 engine making 368 kW (493 hp SAE net) at 5000&nbps;rpm
- S65 AMG
- USD$169,720
- Engine: AMG-built twin turbocharged SOHC 6.0 L (5980 cc) 36-valve V12 engine making 612 hp (456 kW) @ 5100 rpm and 738 ft.lbf (1001 Nm) of torque.
United Kingdom S-Class Models
(Data for year 2005 models)
- S63 AMG was only produced in 2001.
| Model | Price | Max power | Max torque | 0–100 km/h (0-62 mph) (seconds) | Max speed | Fuel consumption | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheelbase | Wheelbase | (km/h) | (mph) | US combined average (mpg) | |||||
| Short | Long | Long | Short | ||||||
| S 280 | £46,820 | 145 kW (197 hp DIN) | 270 Nm (199 ft.lbf) | 9.7 | 144 | 232 | 25.5 | ||
| S 350 | £52,410 | £55,160 | 180 kW (245 hp DIN) | 350 Nm (258 ft.lbf) | 8.2 | 8.2 | 153 | 246 | 25.5 |
| S 500 | £63,010 | £65,730 | 225 kW (306 hp DIN) | 460 Nm (339 ft.lbf) | 6.3 | 6.3 | 155 | 249 | 24.8 |
| S 600 | £92,010 | 368 kW (500 hp DIN) | 800 Nm (590 ft.lbf) | 4.8 | 155 | 249 | 19.1 | ||
| S 320 CDI | £50,245 | £52,995 | 150 kW (204 hp DIN) | 470 Nm (347 ft.lbf) | 7.9 | 7.9 | 141 | 227 | 36.7 |
| S 55 AMG | £87,510 | £90,260 | 368 kW (500 hp DIN) | 530 Nm (391 ft.lbf) | 4.8 | 4.8 | 155 | 249 | 21.4 |
| S 63 AMG | ~£110,000 | 326 kW (444 hp DIN) | 620 Nm (457 ft.lbf) | 5.7 | 155 | 249 | 19.1 | ||
Safety
Road accident statistics on a model-by-model basis from the UK Department of Transport show that the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is one of the safest cars on the UK roads (measured in terms of chance of death in an accident)—between three times safer than the safest Volvo and BMW 7-Series models and only matched by the Jaguar XJ series and Land Rover.
Awards
The S-class was Wheels magazine's Car of the Year for 1981 and again in 1999.
Competitors include:
External links
- Official Mercedes-Benz Website (http://www.mercedes-benz.com/)
- US Official Site S-Class Overview (http://www.mbusa.com/brand/container.jsp?/models/class_overview.jsp&modelCode=s_class_main)
References
- Consumer Guide. 2004 Mercedes-Benz S-Class/CL-Class Snapshot. Retrieved December 21, 2003 from http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/new/reviews/prices/index.cfm/id/37669Template:Mercedes-Benz vehicles