Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe Concept Preview: 2014 Detroit Auto Show

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe Concept is a barely-disguised version of the road car that will replace the CL-Class that has carried the full-size two-door load for the automaker for so many years.  Ostensibly a coupe based on the same platform as the S-Class sedan, the S-Class Coupe Concept manages to transcend that simple explanation by showing just how beautiful of a vehicle Mercedes-Benz designers can sculpt even across such a large, expansive canvas.  It’s essentially the drop-dead version of the world’s most advanced luxury car, and it has very few real competitors outside of near-exotics from Aston Martin and Maserati.

What’s New for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe Concept:

• All-new full-size coupe
• Shares its drivetrain with the S-Class sedan
• Replaces the CL-Class

New Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe Concept: Styling and Design

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe Concept takes everything about the S-Class sedans’s size and amplifies, creating a low-slung, impossibly long, yet still graceful look for the full-size two-door car.  The presence it commands is outstanding, and the car (as befitting its name) demands respect in a way that the more obscure CL-Class couldn’t quite achieve with the masses.  The interior of the S-Class Coupe Concept is a little less practical, with shades of the S-Class sedan merging with auto show call-outs such as reams of white leather and ample mood lighting.

New Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe Concept: What’s Under the Hood

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe Concept comes with a 4.7-liter twin-turbo V-8 engine that has been tuned to provide 449 horsepower.  Similar in most respects to the eight-cylinder engine offered with the S550, a seven-speed automatic transmission handles the shifting duties for the S-Class Coupe.  Presumably, given its platform sharing with the sedan, the coupe is able to feature rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive layouts.

Moving beyond the mechanical, the S-Class Coupe Concept is also rammed to the gills with the semi-autonomous safety gear including a stereoscopic forward camera system that is linked to the car’s Magic Body Control suspension.  This feature scans the road ahead to detect potential insults and then automatically adjusts the suspension to deflect or absorb the impact as required.

New Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe Concept: What Autobytel Thinks

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe Concept is beautiful, and there’s no reason at all not to build it.  The customer base for this class of car – while small – is well-established, and tying the brand’s full-size coupe to the S-Class name is a tried-and-true tactic that should help further increase the prestige of what is already a beautiful, rapid, comfortable, and ostentatious automobile.