Wednesday 2nd September 2015

Mercedes S-Class Cabriolet - official!

The finest four-seat cabrio there is? [Now with video]

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That there is a page in Mercedes' S-Class Cabriolet press release dedicated to the new climate control tells you a great deal about this car. Look elsewhere for a big convertible with sporting aspirations - a Maserati GranCabrio perhaps? - for this is about maximum decadent luxury sans roof.

For when the yacht won't really suit

So with the new climate control, or Thermotronic as it's officially known, there's no dithering with the ventilation once the roof has gone down - it's fully automatic. Mercedes says an overlapping function allows for 'maximum climate comfort' roof up or down, with 12 sensors (!) and 18 actuators. It will automatically adjust for dew, for 'any changes in solar irradiation' and has three climate styles: diffuse, medium or focused. Right. If that goes wrong bank on it being more than a regas to fix...

So staying cool is covered, but what about looking cool? Of course this is a subjective thing but we would have to say the S-Class cab has that sorted too. Long, low and elegant, it's as successful a transformation from the coupe as was hoped for. It still doesn't look that big in the back though.

But that won't matter because all occupants will be treated to 'excellent noise-related comfort' thanks to a low 0.29 drag co-efficient and a three-layer soft-top with a butyl layer, a water barrier and 'acoustically optimised roof lining'. When the time comes to do away with the lining, the butyl and the water barrier, the roof can disappear in 20 seconds at speeds of up to 37mph. Naturally your luggage is safe from the retracted roof thanks to an automatic partition.

Fairly lovely with the roof up too

That's not to say Mercedes has completely ignored how the drop-top S-Class drives. To compensate for the missing roof, rigidity is restored through a new aluminium rear floor, a wall behind the rear seat of magnesium and aluminium and 'numerous reinforcements' underneath. The result, says Mercedes, is torsional stiffness 'on a par with those of the S-Class Coupe which was superseded last year'. That will be the car we all know as the CL then. It's also claimed that the bodyshell weight is identical to the current coupe, with which it shares 60 per cent of its body parts. Claimed kerbweight? 2,110kg. Without driver...

But that's not to conclude negatively on the S-Class Cabriolet. It should combine all the technology and performance that has made the S-Class saloon so popular with a welcome shot of style and open-air pomp. It will be seen at Frankfurt as an S500 and S63, with sales beginning at the end of the year and deliveries in time for the first of the spring 2016 sunshine. It'll be the season's must have darling.

Watch the official video here.

 

[arkenphel]

Ooooh, that looks really nice! Even with the top up, it looks good!

Must save up more...!

[sidesauce]

Yes Mercedes. Yes.

Edited by sidesauce on Wednesday 2nd September 09:41

[TWPC]

Very nice. Lovely big wafty thing that Merc should always have in their range.
If I could afford one of these, though, I would buy a 300SE convertible from the mid-1960s. W112 I think. Looks even better, both inside and out.

[sidesauce]

TWPC said:

I would buy a 300SE convertible from the mid-1960s. W112 I think. Looks even better, both inside and out.

Not to my eyes although I do appreciate them. Plus you can use the new one every day but the old one? Not so sure, the old car is ruinously expensive if things go wrong (which for cars of that era is an inevitability) - read here... http://www.mercedesheritage.com/2012/04/300se/

They're not cheap to buy either! http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/mercede...

Edited by sidesauce on Wednesday 2nd September 13:07

[hwajones]

Pity about the front end!

[RyCliff]

To me the picture of the grey one with roof up from behind shares too many similarities with this



Like the white one though

[DoctorX]

hwajones said:

Pity about the front end!

The front end styling of all Mercs these days is horrible IMO. I quite like the new back ends though.

[Dr G]

Heater controls from a 90s VW, nice

[KillerHERTZ]

Dr G said:

Heater controls from a 90s VW, nice

Eh?




Couldnt be more different...?

[ambuletz]

the rear makes me think of a mitsubishi FTO.

[Dr G]

KillerHERTZ said:

Couldnt be more different...?

Other than having exactly the same name, yes.

[Cie]

That is so pretty.

[IATM]

I wonder if there will be an amg variant of this? will certainly cause a few accidents in the lower region... mmmmm

[KillerHERTZ]

Dr G said:

Other than having exactly the same name, yes.

Doh...! see what you mean

IATM said:

I wonder if there will be an amg variant of this? will certainly cause a few accidents in the lower region... mmmmm

Yes, the white car pictured is the S63 AMG

[Tuvra]

"The finest four-seat cabrio there is?" - Rolls Royce may disagree.

I don't mind it, could never buy one though, I'd feel like a right ostentatious tt driving round in a big convertible like that, same as I would driving an open top Bentley, Roller etc. Not really sure why

[Richard A]

TWPC said:

Very nice. Lovely big wafty thing that Merc should always have in their range.
If I could afford one of these, though, I would buy a 300SE convertible from the mid-1960s. W112 I think. Looks even better, both inside and out.

Agreed. Calm, confident, mature and understated... not like this histrionic, crowd-pleasing blinger.

[ecs0set]

It looks nice and has lots of toys and big engines. However the rear leg room still looks limited. I was expecting it to be greater given the larger overall footprint compared to say the E-class convertible.

I was also expecting a folding metal roof if I'm honest. It's tricky to pull off with 4-seat convertibles but with a rear deck that long, I doubt it would have changed the roof-down styling much.

I'd have the Maserati personally.

[GranCab]

ecs0set said:

It looks nice and has lots of toys and big engines. However the rear leg room still looks limited. I was expecting it to be greater given the larger overall footprint compared to say the E-class convertible.

I was also expecting a folding metal roof if I'm honest. It's tricky to pull off with 4-seat convertibles but with a rear deck that long, I doubt it would have changed the roof-down styling much.

I'd have the Maserati personally.

[mrclav]

Richard A said:

Agreed. Calm, confident, mature and understated... not like this histrionic, crowd-pleasing blinger.

The new car is a "blinger" in comparison to the old one? The old car is understated? Really?? Do you actually know what the word "bling" truly means??? Your statement isn't correct if we go by the facts.

The old car has a LOT more chrome (which is what the "bling" is in this case) than the new one. The only chrome on the new one is in the grill at the front, the strip above the rear lights and and around the sill. In comparison, the old car has the entire front and rear bumpers, the headlight frames, the grill, the windshield surround, the wipers and the wheel covers/hub caps not to mention the two lines of chrome along the middle and the bottom of the flanks. Now THAT is a "crowd-pleasing blinger", the new car is actually the far more understated IMO.

Old:-

New:-

[chelme]

GranCab said:

ecs0set said:

It looks nice and has lots of toys and big engines. However the rear leg room still looks limited. I was expecting it to be greater given the larger overall footprint compared to say the E-class convertible.

I was also expecting a folding metal roof if I'm honest. It's tricky to pull off with 4-seat convertibles but with a rear deck that long, I doubt it would have changed the roof-down styling much.

I'd have the Maserati personally.

+1