A217 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabrio – in M’sia soon?

What’s this? We do know the Malaysian debut of the facelifted W222/V222 S-Class is coming soon, but it appears from a teaser on the Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Facebook page that something else from the family may also be on the cards – the image reveals the topless form of the facelifted A217 S-Class Cabriolet, which made its global debut last September at the IAA 2017 in Frankfurt.

If indeed it does go on sale here, the drop-top will likely come in the form of the S 560 Cabriolet, which is powered by the marque’s M176 4.0 litre biturbo petrol V8 producing 469 hp and 700 Nm of torque. This replaces the previous M278 4.7 litre biturbo V8 on the pre-facelift S 500 version.

Aside from new front and rear bumpers, the refresh adds new side skirts and wheel options as well as OLED (organic light emitting diode) tail lights and new chrome-plated twin tailpipes, the latter replacing the dual outlets seen on the pre-facelift.

Equipment-wise, the S-Class Cabriolet will bring the whole nine yards, and then some – fresh bits include a new steering wheel with touch control buttons and an Intelligent Drive driver assist suite, and the brand’s Energising comfort control is a new option.

The S-Class Cabriolet is also available in AMG-badged form, with two versions on offer in other markets, namely the S 63 and the S 65. The former is powered by a 4.0 litre biturbo petrol V8 with 612 hp and 900 Nm of torque, while the latter is equipped with a 6.0 biturbo petrol V12 offering 630 hp and 1,000 Nm of torque.

The V8-powered S 63 version gets paired with the nine-speed AMG Speedshift MCT gearbox, whereas the V12 S 65 employs the older seven-speed transmission. Right-hand-drive markets will do without the AMG Performance 4Matic+ all-wheel-drive system, so if an AMG variant does show up, it will be strictly a rear-wheel driven affair.

If it shows, the facelifted iteration will be the first A217-generation S-Class Cabriolet that we will officially receive for the Malaysian market – back in 2016, the pre-facelift was said to be inbound, but it never showed up. We did drive it though – check out the drive impressions where our man Anthony Lim sampled the pre-facelift A217 S-Class Cabriolet in the sun-soaked Cote d’Azur, south of France.

Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet

Mercedes-AMG S 63 4Matic+ Cabriolet

Mercedes-AMG S 65 Cabriolet

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