As if Mercedes-Benz didn’t already have a flagship, a land yacht commanding everyone’s attention on deck, this week they unveiled the S-Class Cabriolet.
It’s not an SL roadster, no this is a healthy meaty new drop-top variation of the top-end S-Class Coupe for those among us who don’t need to fight for a roomy parking space in the streets of life.
And if it’s anything like the classic SE Cabriolets of the 1960’s and 70’s, these will be kept close and babied well.
With the open air, Mercedes says the S-Class Cabriolet remains exceptionally rigid with added bulkheads and bracing made of aluminum and magnesium.
Even with the robust pyrotechnic roll-over protection system, they say its weight is on par with the S-Class Coupe.
In addition to being the height of rolling large in terms of style and elegance, a great deal of attention was given to making it both quiet at speed with its soft top down, as well as comfortable.
AIRSCARF neck-level heating, heated seats front and rear as well as heated armrests are just the beginning of the list.
And you heard that right, this has a soft top, not the folding hard top which has been such the rage in the last decade.
It keeps the coupe’s profile and stows neatly away as you’d expect and you can have it in black, dark blue, beige and dark red to add some extra style.
Power comes from a 4.7 liter V8 in the S550 Cabriolet, an engine offering up 449 horsepower to the rear wheels through a 9-speed automatic transmission.
For those wanting more, the Mercedes-AMG S63 4MATIC has the larger 5.5 liter twin-turbocharged V8.
That engine with its 577 horsepower will come with the AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed sports transmission, and as noted the all-wheel drive of 4MATIC.
Mercedes says it will accelerate from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds.
Arriving in North America in the spring of 2016, the Mercedes-Benz S550 Cabriolet and Mercedes-AMG S63 4MATIC Cabriolet will be expensive. And it’s safe to say will be pretty exciting.
