Mercedes S-Class: The best car in the world turns 50
Seven generations and five decades later, it continues to pioneer automotive advancements
Best car in the world. A title bestowed upon one machine that emerges as the undisputed leader in intelligence, power, luxury and performance. One doesn’t happen to build such a car, it gets built with expert precision and a spare-no-costs attitude. The brief to develop the Mercedes Benz S-Class ran on similar lines – make the best car in the world. Fifty years since its introduction in 1972 to the world, the S-Class continues to stand on its simple-yet-supreme developmental brief.
2022 witnesses the 50th anniversary of the Mercedes Benz S-Class. The flagship luxury sedan has been the brand’s flag bearer in introducing the latest in technology and the best in luxury. It may have never held the title for the most expensive, fastest or the most comfortable car, but it certainly measured as a status symbol that was acknowledged world over. Though, the S-Class’ legacy extends a lot more than a mere swagger machine as the sedan has been pioneering automotive advancements since its inception.
The first two generations of the S-Class, internally named the W116 and the W126, pioneered the act of providing revolutionary features on a mass-production car. Features like the ABS, driver airbag, seat-belt pre-tensioner and traction control found standard in modern-day cars that trace their roots back to the Mercedes S-Class.
The collision avoidance system, an essential functionality upon which today’s ADAS semi-autonomous driving software is being built, was first launched on the Mercedes S-Class (fourth-gen or W220), accelerating the vision of autonomous vehicles cars two decades ago.
LED headlights and taillights, a novelty found in most premium present-day cars, was originally launched first on the S-Class. One can thank the flagship luxury ‘Big Benz’ for radicalising the aggressive look adopted on all new car launches we witness today.
Though the world-first features aren’t solely responsible for the S-Class’ esteemed legacy. It was also the clientele the S-Class catered and attracted that built its reputation of a world-class car. Globally recognised celebrities to leaders of states, the Mercedes S-Class has been the benchmark luxury sedan choice of them all. Business people would choose an S-Class to cement their heightened reputation. The Indian, Philippine and Russian presidents have possessed armoured versions of the S-Class as their choice of vehicle. Mercedes even resurrected its luxury arm Maybach to cater to exponential personalisation requests by Aristocrats to create a unique S-Class for themselves.
Currently, in its seventh generation, the S-Class continues to set the benchmark for luxury mobility. The latest car comes equipped with recliner seats that are second only to the seats found on a private jet and a tech-laden cabin that previews the future of in-car entertainment. Self-driving capabilities also get embedded, most likely to find themselves in cars of the next decade. And that should sum up the legacy of the S-Class, a self-proclaimed best car in the world that pioneers automotive advances that span decades to follow.
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