FLAGSHIP AHOY: Over two years before its official presentation at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show, the design of the new Mercedes S-class, code-named W 221, has been finished and the prototypes are finally wearing the production headlights and other elements.
According to a Mercedes spokesman, the new flagship will not grow in length or width, but will feature a lengthened wheelbase with front and rear wheels pushed further to the edges, which will give the cars shorter overhangs.
Very large rear side doors will make access to the rear bench even more comfortable.
Although still very elegant, the new S-class will feature a design quite different from the current car. In fact, design elements of the up-coming GST, which will itself be based on the chassis of the new S-class, will be taken over to the new S-class, too: the car will be given a prominent waistline underneath the side windows, reaching from the bonnet straight through to the boot lid - a simple trick to disguise the true height of the boot without destroying the overall elegance.
The front of the car will be dominated by a very flat and wide grille, and a new design of headlights which will be a characteristic of all new Mercedes cars in the future.
It's still too early to give concrete information about the chassis and electronics. However, it seems definite that air suspension and huge 19-inch or 20-inch wheels will be part of the standard equipment of the new model.
It seems certain that the engine range too will be radically modernised until production of the new S-class starts in late 2005. By then almost all engines will be adapted to the new direct injection technology CGI.