Tuesday 25th August 2015

Mercedes S-Class Cabriolet (nearly) revealed

Elegant S-Class spawns its third model with Cabriolet set to rival Bentley and Rolls-Royce

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Even by the standards of manufacturer 'teaser images', this is fairly odd from Mercedes. What you see here is the new Mercedes S-Class Cabriolet, caught winter testing a little while back and eagerly anticipated by toupee owners the world over.

A better look; not the actual car though

Only it isn't, because what you see more of is an old 280SE. According to Mercedes, the new car will be its first luxury four-seater cabrio since the SE of 1971. Its inclusion is certainly valid then, but why can't we have a proper look at the new one? Please?!

So what does the picture tell us? Well, um, silver paint with red leather will be available. Good. Other than that the sumptuous interior appears to carry over unchanged from the saloon and coupe. From here it looks rather squashed in the back actually, though that could be a trick of the light; let's see when the full image comes out. Worth noting too that the housing for the roof is huge, as you might expect given the size of the car. Finally, those large black sections in the seat that look like screens are ventilation fans, to ensure optimum temperature for those privileged enough to travel in the back of an S-Class Cabriolet.

Mercedes has also released a design sketch of the car, revealing it to look very similar to the Coupe from the rear. Again, no great surprises. On smaller wheels this surely be very similar to the production car.

As for the engines, a line up mirroring the coupe would seem most likely. This would mean an S500 V8 with two AMG models, the S63 and twin-turbo V12 S65. Will a diesel or a hybrid ever be seen in an S-Class Cabriolet?

At present there isn't an official launch date from Mercedes, or indeed confirmation of its appearance at a motor show any time soon. Perhaps one for LA in November? California will surely prove a very popular environment for the S-Class Cabriolet. In white, presumably. More info as it's available!

[Bencolem]

So I'm guessing the rear end crop is Mercedes tacit acknowledgement that the Renault Laguna inspired rear end is gopping?

Do think it will be mega otherwise though!