Meet the new 2015 Mercedes S-class Cabriolet – a brand new addition coming to the S-class family next year.
Caught in CAR magazine’s new spy photos, the S-class convertible is proof that sometimes concept cars do make reality. Back in December 2006, Merc showed the Ocean Drive show car ahead of its Detroit motor show debut the following month.
Seven years later, this prototype S-class Cabriolet shows that Mercedes is finally about to chop the top off its new S-class Coupe, né CL. The Ocean Drive’s four doors have been binned in favour of a single pair of doors – but it does keep the four seats, clearly visible in some of our spyshots.
It might be a small niche, but it’s one that Daimler thinks worth exploiting as it moves to fill every which segment with products bearing the three-pointed star. Think of the S-class rag-top as a rival to the Bentley Continental GTC cabrio – and it’ll be priced to suit, costing from around £110,000 for an S500 Cabriolet.
Mercedes S-class Cabriolet: a folding soft-top
Our scoop photographs reveal the S-class will eschew the folding hard top of the SL. While that car continues as a gentleman’s boulevardier GT, the open S will of course maintain four seats for sedate seaside touring.
Naturally, most of the bodywork will replicate the S-class coupe’s, whose platform it shares. This is why the deeply sculpted rear seats will house two grown-ups in impeccable luxury, according to those who’ve seen the car.
Three engines are likely at launch – a pair of V8s and a madcap V12 breathed on by AMG:
S500 Cabriolet 4.7-litre V8 455bhp
S63 AMG Cabriolet 5.5-litre V8 585bhp
S65 AMG Cabriolet 6.0-litre V12 630bhp
Gadgets galore for new 2015 Mercedes S-class Cabriolet
All the engines and technology on the new S-class Coupe will be available on the convertible, with more besides. Expect the latest Merc rollover tech, while Magic Body Control will smooth away bumps and a £1130 fridge in the back will cool your champers just so.
And the range is likely to extend up to a somewhat madcap S65 AGM Cabriolet – which could even break the £200k barrier. The coupe version already retails for a somewhat shocking £183,065, so the cabrio is sure to add a chunky premium.
That’s deep into Bentley territory – and a fine German riposte to news that Rolls-Royce is readying a Wraith convertible.