2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Debuts New S600 Range-topper

Okay, truth be told, the new top-of-the-line S600 model for the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class had its public premiere earlier in January, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but since the car isn't making its dealership debut until the spring, there's still plenty of time to ponder the car's specifications before you place your order.

As a starting point, let's consider the 2015 S600's upgraded engine. It's become a tradition for the modern-day S600 to rely on V12 power, and this year's model will carry on with a biturbo unit that welcomes an additional .5 liters of displacement over the 2013 engine (and a stop/start system to goose fuel economy). The resulting 6.0 liters of motivation is good for 523 hp and 612 lb.-ft. of torque, and that peak twisting power is available as early as 1,900 rpm. To put that kind of output into context, the engine in the entry point to the 2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Class family is a 4.6-liter biturbo V8 that delivers a mere 449 horses and 516 lb.-ft. of torque.

Now, at this stage, M-B didn't provide performance numbers for the next-gen S600, but the current S550, with the just-mentioned V8, claims a 4.8-second time in the 0-60 sprint; you can expect the more powerful S600 to be correspondingly quicker than that. On the other hand, as the range-topping member of the 2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Class roster, the new S600 also boasts the full gamut of M-B's connectivity, safety, suspension and infotainment technologies, including the S-Class' new touchpad controller, and wraps it all up in elite levels of luxury.

More information about the 2015 Mercedes-Benz S600, including efficiency and pricing data, will be provided in the near-term future.

Said Ola Källenius, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Mercedes-Benz Cars. "The S-Class has always been the embodiment of our claim to deliver the very best in terms of both technology and design. And our flagship model, the S600, epitomizes the focus of our development work, the 'Essence of Luxury', in a way that no other model can. Our customers in North America and Asia in particular will enjoy this new top model with its exciting V12 engine."