The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is traditionally the world’s greatest automotive trendsetter. Anti-lock brakes, sat-nav, adaptive cruise control, night vision and countless other safety and comfort technologies have been pioneered by the German luxury car throughout its decades of evolution.
What the next S-Class looks like is far less important than what new technology is lurking beneath its four-door body shell. Nevertheless, we’ve grabbed hold of some spy shots of the next generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class (the W222, as it’s known internally) at a TV commercial shoot. The new model was only supposed to be seen two months from now at a special event held in Hamburg, Germany.
As we can see from the spy shots, the new 2013 S-Class, much like the new E-Class, has transformed into a very attractive, elegant four-door conveyance. The curves and undulations of its new body are prefaced by two converging lines down the side of the car that create an elegant simplicity in tandem with the big, signature Mercedes-Benz grille.
The rear end slopes with an almost Rolls-Royce like C-pillar and while its pipes are not the most prominent, even they have a considered elegance about them now. The headlights and rear lights have also received the LED treatment to keep it ahead of the 7-Series and A8 competition.
Other noticeable styling features include a huge glass roof and cross-drilled brake rotors. Compared to the current S-Class, the new one has more subtle fender flares which improve the overall profile.
As far as the online rumourmill is concerned, the technology on the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class will include new active seat belts which are ‘power-deployable’. They work together with the PRE-SAFE system for automatic tension before an imminent collision.
Magic Body Control is considered the next evolution of Merc’s ABC (Active Body Control) suspension which will be able to use cameras for detecting road imperfections and automatically configured the suspension to compensate as best as possible.
It sounds typically Mercedes-Benz and incredibly over-engineered. We like the look of the new car. We cant wait to give it a thorough test when it arrives in the future.
