All this safety gear will only go so far to reassure buyers that their cars will keep them safe in an accident, but most of the
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| The base S-Class in North America will be the S500, with a massively revised new-generation 8-cylinder powerplant. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz Canada) |
people who have the kind of money that it will take to get into a new S-Class want some serious performance to match. In this department Mercedes also proves to be ahead of the game. The base S-Class in North America will be the S500, with a massively revised new-generation 8-cylinder powerplant featuring increased displacement, variable valve timing and lightweight components to increase efficiency. It is a 5.5-litre V8 capable of producing 388-horsepower, and that's just for starters. Next up is the S600 with a 5.5-litre, bi-turbocharged V12 for some amazing grunt and a total of 517-horsepower. Though nothing has been announced yet, it's only reasonable to assume that the AMG engineers will eventually get their hands on the S and drop in a supercharged V8 and even a "kompressor" V12, the latter good for over 600-horsepower. Okay maybe that's not reasonable, but c'mon, reasonable isn't what AMG is all about.
Transmissions will start and end with their sophisticated 7G-Tronic automatic gearbox. As implied by the
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| Transmissions will start and end with Mercedes-Benz' sophisticated 7G-Tronic automatic gearbox. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz Canada) |
name there are seven forward gears that, if so inclined, you can pick through on your own using its manual mode with buttons on the back of the steering wheel for fingertip operation. Also new, the transmission is controlled by a stalk on the right side of the steering column, so be careful in rainy weather if you're used to having windshield wiper controls there. The best feature about 7G-Tronic is its driver adaptive capability, meaning that it will match your mood and driving style whether in a hurry to make it to the opera before the curtain goes up or if just cruising around the countryside for some fresh air.
