What's the news?
Here's one we didn't see coming - Mercedes has created the sixth model in the S-Class family by taking the roof off the Coupé version to create the Cabriolet.
Stuttgart says this is the first luxury four-seat open-top it has built since the 'W111' 280SE Convertible of 1971, which conveniently forgets all the E-Class Cabrios going back to the 'W124' model of the 1990s, and it's likely to cost even more than the S-Class Coupé's Irish entry-level price of €169,559; the top AMG model will therefore be in excess of €355,520. Yikes!
In terms of line-up, Mercedes hasn't given any details as yet but expect it to use the same three-engine, all-petrol range as seen in the Coupé: a 4.7-litre V8 in the S500; and two biturbo AMG models, a 5.5-litre V8 for the S63 and a 6.0-litre V12 for the S65.
If Mercedes is calling this the sixth in the S-Class family, we reckon that means the regular saloon (short- and long-wheelbase), the Coupé, both iterations of the Mercedes-Maybach (that includes the gargantuan Pullman), and the forthcoming GLS SUV. That's quite a formidable range of luxury machines at the top of the three-pointed star's tree. Expect the Cabriolet to be on sale in 2016.
Anything else?
You're thinking you've seen the 280SE Convertible in something recently, aren't you? Well, you have - it's the car the Wolf Pack drives in The Hangover - the one that ultimately gets savaged by Mike Tyson's pet tiger. We wonder if Mercedes has therefore made provision with the S-Class Cabrio for the transportation of big cats...?
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