Mercedes S Class Technical Highlights

Press Release

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class: Always impeccably dressed

 

People have always bought the Mercedes-Benz S-Class for its effortless and luxurious ride quality. Or for its outstanding safety features. Or for its pioneering technology. And they're right, of course. But the S-Class offers much more besides.

 

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is the ultimate reward for a lifestyle shaped by mobility, individuality, success and sophistication. You don't simply decide to buy an S-Class: it comes to you when fate has ordained that your life should take that course. The door closes with a reassuring clunk - and you have arrived. This is what makes the car and its predecessors unique among the world's great sedans. And has done so for more than half a century.

 

When the W 220 model series was presented in 1998, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, the Daimler-Benz AG Board Member responsible for Sales at the time, said: "There can be no other vehicle with which Mercedes-Benz is more strongly identified than the S-Class. But for me its significance goes even further: The sum of its qualities makes it the point of orientation for the entire Mercedes-Benz brand."

 

The S-Class story begins officially with the W 116, the series built from 1972 to 1980 and the first to be given the model designation that soon became symbolic of a genre. Not for nothing was the S-Class frequently referred to as the finest car in the world. But the history of the S-Class actually goes back much further.

 

The following models laid the foundations for the post-war tradition of the great Mercedes-Benz premium-class sedans:

·          220, 187 series (1951 to 1954)

·          220 a, 219, 220 S and 220 SE, 180/128 series (1954 to 1959)

·          220 b, 220 Sb, 220 SEb, 300 SE, 111/112 series (1959 to 1965)

·          250 S - 300 SE, 300 SEL - 300 SEL 6.3, 108/109 series (1965 to 1971)

·          S-Class, 116 series (1971 to 1980)

·          S-Class, 126 series (1979 to 1991)

·          S-Class, 140 series (1991 to 1998)

·          S-Class, 220 series (1998 to 2005)

·          S-Class, 221 series (from 2005)

 

So where exactly is the S-Class positioned? Of course, it offers every luxury imaginable, the finest engineering and maximum safety. Differentiation treads a fine line in the upper spheres of automotive mobility, but perhaps it is best expressed like this: In the S-Class you are impeccably dressed for any occasion, while a representational limousine such as the 600 or the Maybach offers an additional degree of exclusivity. Whatever the customer's preference, Mercedes-Benz can provide.

 

Technical highlights of the S-Class

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class has always been in the avant-garde of automotive technology. Over the years it has brought many innovations to market which subsequently found a widespread application. What follows is a brief overview of the distinctive design features found in the individual model series.

 

220, 187 series (1951 to 1954)

·          Newly designed six-cylinder engine with overhead camshaft

·          Safety door lock to prevent doors bursting open

·          Heater blower available

·          Duplex drum brakes at the front

 

220 a, 219, 220 S and 220 SE, 180/128 series (1954 to 1959)

·          Self-supporting chassis/body structure

·          Front axle subframe

·          Single-joint swing axle with a lowered pivot

·          Brake drums with "turbo cooling"

·          "Hydrak" hydraulic-automatic clutch

 

220 b 220 Sb, 220 SEb, 300 SE, 111/112 series (1959 to 1965)

·          Safety passenger cell with crumple zones (front and rear)

·          Padded steering wheel

·          Wedge-pin door locks

·          Disk brakes (300 SE)

·          Three-point seat belts

·          Four-speed automatic transmission

·          Air suspension (300 SE)

·          Long-wheelbase version available (300 SE)

 

250 S - 300 SE, 300 SEL - 300 SEL 6.3, 108/109 series (1965 to 1971)

·          First premium-class post-war sedan with eight-cylinder engine

·          First independent premium-class model series

·          Patented safety steering system

·          Hydropneumatic balancer spring on the rear axle

 

S-Class 116 series (1971 to 1980)

·          Officially designated "S-Class" for the first time

·          Anti-lock brake system (ABS) from 1978

·          Largest post-war passenger car engine with 6.9-liter displacement in the 450 SEL 6.9

·          Double-wishbone front axle from the C 111 experimental vehicle

·          Fuel tank located above the rear axle for protection in case of collision

·          Safety design in the interior

·          First premium-class car with diesel engine (300 SD)

 

S-Class 126 series (1979 to 1991)

·          New safety concept, first production car worldwide to meet the criteria of an offset crash

·          Driver's airbag and seat belt tensioner from 1981

·          Front passenger airbag from 1985

·          Three-point seat belts for rear seats

·          Automatic locking differential

·          Acceleration skid control (ASR)

 

S-Class 140 series (1991 to 1998)

·          Electronic Stability Program (ESP)

·          Brake Assist (BAS)

·          Adaptive Damping System (ADS)

·          Front axle subframe

·          Soundproofed windows

·          Parameter steering with speed-sensitive steering moment

·          Seat belt system with automatic height adjustment

·          Sidebags

·          First Mercedes-Benz twelve-cylinder production engine in a passenger car, at the time the brand's most powerful passenger car engine

 

S-Class 220 series (1998 to 2005)

·          Seat belt tensioners and belt force limiters in the rear

·          Automatic child seat recognition system

·          Window bags

·          PRE-SAFE occupant protection system

·          DISTRONIC autonomous intelligent cruise control

·          Automatic cylinder shut-off

·          Co-efficient of drag rating = 0.27

·          Keyless-Go access system

·          Air suspension with AIRmatic adaptive damping system as standard

·          At the time world's most powerful passenger car diesel engine in the S 400 CDI

 

Model history - short version

 

Mercedes-Benz 220, 187 series (1951 to 1954)

At the first Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA) in April 1951, Daimler-Benz presented the 220 and 300 passenger cars. Aside from its 2.2-liter engine with 80 hp (59 kW), the 220 was largely based on the 170 S. Running gear and body were almost identical, although the headlamps were now integrated into the specially modified front fenders. Production of the 200 sedan came to an end in May 1954.

 

Mercedes-Benz 220 a, 219 and 220 S and 220 SE, 180/128 series (1954 to 1959)

In March 1954 Mercedes-Benz introduced the new 220. This decidedly modern overall design bore similarities to the 180 model that had gone into production six months earlier. The 200 now also boasted a self-supporting ponton-type body structure welded firmly to the frame/floor unit. It was also the first Mercedes-Benz production car to benefit from the single-joint swing axle with low pivot point, which had been developed for the W 196 Formula One racing car. The brake system was also much improved: The 220 a was given ribbed brake drums with "turbo cooling" on all four wheels. In March 1956, two years after the presentation of the 220 a, the 219 and 220 S were introduced as successors to the first six-cylinder model a with ponton-type body. In September 1958 Mercedes-Benz presented the new six-cylinder 220 SE model. Delivery started in November.

 

Mercedes-Benz 220 b, 220 Sb, 220 SEb, 300 SE, 111/112 series (1959 to 1965)

In August 1959, the existing six-cylinder models were succeeded by three completely redesigned models under the slogan: "The new six-cylinders - in a class of their own." These were the 220 b, 220 Sb and 220 SEb. The new model series set new standards in terms of passive safety, incorporating for the first time in a production car the Barényi-patented rigid passenger cell with front and rear crumple zones. In August 1961, the new premium-class 300 SE model was introduced. In addition to having four-speed automatic transmission and the newly developed power steering, the basic equipment package also included air suspension - featured for the first time in a Mercedes-Benz passenger car and offering a combination of sporty ride characteristics together with outstanding suspension comfort.

 

Mercedes-Benz 250 S - 300 SE, 300 SEL - 300 SEL 6.3, 108/109 series (1965 to 1971)

In August 1965 came the generation that included the 250 S, 250 SE and 300 SE models designed by Paul Bracq. And in March 1966, the model range was expanded to include the 300 SEL, the wheelbase of which was 100 millimeters longer than the basic model. It also had air suspension as standard. Production of the 250 SE and 300 SE ended at the start of 1968. That January saw the introduction of the successor models 280 S and 280 SE, which differed from their predecessors only in respect of engine and equipment details. In March 1968 came the top-of-the-range 300 SEL 6.3, which boasted the V8 engine and automatic transmission of the 600, thus enabling it to match the potential output of a top-quality sports car. Production of the highly successful W 108/W 109 model series came to an end in September 1972.

 

Mercedes-Benz S-Class, 116 series (1971 to 1980)

The first official "Mercedes-Benz S-Class" - internal designation W 116 - replaced the W 108/109 series and initially included three models, the 280 S, 280 SE and 350 SE. One noteworthy technical innovation introduced for the first time as standard in the sedans of the W 116 series was the double-wishbone front suspension with zero-offset steering and anti-dive control, which originally underwent testing in the C 111 experimental vehicle. This feature further improved handling characteristics. A new top-of-the-range model was presented in May 1975 - the 450 SEL 6.9. And from fall 1978, the S-Class sedans of the W 116 series became the first vehicles in the world equipped with a technical innovation of ground-breaking significance: The anti-lock brake system (ABS), which guaranteed the vehicle's unrestricted steering response even under emergency braking.

 

Mercedes-Benz S-Class, 126 series (1979 to 1991)

In September 1979, Mercedes-Benz presented a new generation of the S-Class at the IAA in Frankfurt. The body was built according to the latest findings in safety research. Thanks to new design principles the passenger compartment could now withstand an "offset crash" at impact speeds up to 55 km/h. From 1981 the vehicle came with an airbag for the driver and - following the model refinement package of 1985 - for the front passenger also. Also in 1985, the engine range underwent a restructuring. The most spectacular newcomer was a 5.6-liter eight-cylinder unit which generated 200 kW (272 hp). In addition, all models in the W 126 series now came equipped with 15-inch wheels and bigger brakes to match. During the twelve-year production period a total of 818,036 sedans left the production workshops in Sindelfingen, making the W 126 the most successful premium-class model series in company history.

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