Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet officially revealed

The last time Mercedes-Benz introduced a luxury convertible for four was quite a while ago – in 1971, to be exact. Well, it’s back again and it’s high time to celebrate the arrival of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet, which has been unveiled prior to its debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Billed as “the world’s most comfortable convertible,” the S-Class Cabriolet features a plethora of technology designed to pamper the occupants but one wouldn’t exactly notice it at first – the drop-top S-Class retains the familiar outlook of its siblings.

Up front, the black “diamond radiator grille” with a single silver louvre catches the eye at first before the massive air intakes below in the bumper vie for one’s attention. Elsewhere, the optional LED Intelligent Light System with Swarovski crystals are featured.

In profile, the most obvious change is, of course, the inclusion of a canvas top – available in either black, dark blue, beige and dark red. Said top can be raised or lowered in a little over 20 seconds and is operational at up to speeds of 60 km/h. When it comes to storing the canvas top, the assembly is deposited into an “automatically extending luggage compartment partition” via process known as “overcentering.”

At the rear, matters remain familiar with the exception of a chrome-trimmed element that frames the canvas top compartment lid. Twin exhaust outlets embedded into the rear bumper with a diffuser-like element round off the list of aesthetic additions – the AMG variant sports a quad pipe layout, more on which later.

Being a cousin to the a car with “the quietest interior,” the S-Class Cabriolet has big shoes to fill. Fortunately, the three-layer acoustic soft-top should see to that requirement. Also, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet boasts a drag coefficient figure of just 0.29 while other conveniences are presented in the guise of optionally available Aircap wind protection and Airscarf neck-level heating system.

So while the above mentioned features are cost options, the drop-top S-Class features, as standard, the brand’s new Thermotronic intelligent climate control system. On said system, the climate controls are fully automated – the driver is never required to configure anything with the top up or down.

The air-conditioning system is comprised of 12 sensors and 18 actuators that allow it to autonomously adjust itself to the optimum setting. Additionally, an Air Balance package with fragrance capabilities as well as an ionisation function and additional air cleaning via an activated charcoal filter is available.

At launch, the S-Class Cabriolet will arrive in two flavours – an entry-level S 500 sits alongside the Mercedes-AMG S 63 4Matic Cabriolet. The former is powered by a 4.7 litre V8 engine which puts out a total of 455 hp and 700 Nm of torque – power gets transmitted to the rear wheels via a nine-speed 9G-Tronic automatic transmission. Both the S 500 and AMG variant are equipped with Airmatic air suspension as standard.

Moving on, the full-fat AMG model gets a 5.5 litre biturbo V8 engine with 585 hp and 900 Nm of twist. An AMG Speedshift MCT seven-speed automatic sends the power to all four corners, which in turn, allows for a 0-100 km/h time of just 3.9 seconds and an electronically-limited top speed of 250 km/h. Mind you, this is taking into account the fact that it weighs over 2,000 kg.

Other AMG-only add-ons include 19-inch forged alloy wheels shod with 255/45 tyres up front and 285/40 tyres at the rear. Optionally, customers can throw in 20-inch alloys (255/40 in front, 285/35 at the rear) and a high-performance carbon ceramic braking system.

On the inside, the S-Class Cabriolet “exudes a yacht-like atmosphere” thanks to a broad scope of leather and metal inserts scattered throughout. The AMG variant one ups the vanilla version with AMG sports seats and a customised TFT instrument cluster with a 330 km/h readout and ‘V8 Biturbo’ lettering.

Aside from the usual array of safety kit that includes Pre-Safe Brake, Distronic Plus, Collision Prevention Assist Plus and many more, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet features a full pyrotechnically-driven mechanism for the rollover protection system. In the event of an impending flip, the airbag control unit emits a signal to said rollover system.

As mentioned, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet will debut in Frankfurt this September before the order books open in December this year. A market launch in the spring of 2016 has been mooted.

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