True, the Mercedes-Benz S550 costs as much as a house. But this high-tech flagship luxury sedan impresses on many counts.

Company to invest 1.5 billion euros into the Sindelfingen plant

Mercedes has announced plans to invest €1.5 ($2 / £1.18) billion into their Sindelfingen plant by 2020.

The investment will be used to modernize the plant and gear up for production of a "new vehicle." The company was coy on specifics but the plant already builds the short- and long-wheelbase S-Class sedan and the S-Class Coupe. The plant will also build three additional S-Class models which are presumably the Maybach, Pullman and Cabrio variants.

Maybach, Pullman and Cabrio variants

If you're one of the few people out there in a dire need of both luxury and protection, Mercedes has recently started manufacturing their latest model from the bulletproof series, the 2015 S-Class Guard.

The special model's production starts about a year after the “regular” S-Class started being manufactured in Sindelfingen, where the crown jewel of Mercedes-Benz car-building sites is situated.

For those interested, the S-Class Guard is hand-built on two floors of the Sindelfingen plant, where small-series production vehicles like the B-Blass Fuel Cell were also made until recently.
The car is currently manufactured along the still-in-production Mercedes-Benz S-Class Pullman (VF 221) and Guard variants of the E-Class (W212), M-Class (W166) and the G-Class (W463) – which until now benefits from the highest protection in the transparent areas, inline with ballistic protection levels 9 and 10.

Speaking of which, the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class Guard comes with armor that has the VR6/VR7 protection level, designated to withstand projectiles from military weapons that “travel twice as fast as bullets fired from a revolver,” plus shrapnel from hand grenades and other similar explosives.

To give you an idea, the windshield alone is about 10 cm thick and weighs about 135 kg (298 pounds), while 5 cm thick steel plates are added on most parts around the passenger cabin.
The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class Guard currently comes only as the S 600 Guard and it has an added cost of around 200,000 euros compared with the “regular” model.

Armored version could cost 1.27M USD

Patent drawings depicting the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Pullman have surfaced the web.

A couple of days ago Mercedes-Benz confirmed plans for three additional derivatives of the S-Class and one of them will be a Pullman variant sitting on top of the range. Seen here are patent drawings of the model dating back to February 2013 when they were registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office but only now these have been published to the large audience.

As expected, the Pullman version looks like a much stretched S-Class and it will reportedly be 6.4 meters (252 inches) long. Brabus will be in charge of producing the specialty model which is believed to adopt a 2+2+2 seating arrangement with the four rear seats facing each other and will be separated from the front ones by a privacy divider.

An armored variant is also in the works and will weigh as much as 5,300 kg (11,684 lbs). Needless to say, it will also be the most expensive S-Class ever with an estimated starting price of 1.27M USD in armored guise.

The S-Class Pullman will likely be introduced in 2015 but before that Mercedes-Benz will unveil an extra-long wheelbase S-Class Maybach expected to make an appearance in November at the Guangzhou Motor Show. Around 2016 or so, an S-Class Cabriolet will be launched to complete the largest S-Class family ever.

First unveiled at the 2013 edition of the Frankfurt Motor Show, the first ever production plug-in hybrid from Mercedes-Benz is finally available for order in Europe, with the actual cars to arrive in dealerships starting this September.

Starting at 108,944.50 euros including 19 percent VAT in Germany, the Mercedes-Benz S 500Plug-in Hybrid comes with slightly revised specifications compared with the variant unveiled last fall in Frankfurt.

Fret not, as the new specs aren't worse, but actually make it faster than what is currently its number one competitor – the Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid.

According to Mercedes-Benz, its new combined fuel consumption in accordance with NEDC is just 2.8 liters per 100 km (84 mpg), while the new 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration time sits at 5.2 seconds.

To put it into perspective, the somewhat similarly-powered Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid has an official NEDC fuel consumption of 3.1 liters per 100 km (75.9 mpg), while its naught to 100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration run takes no less than 5.5 seconds.

“The new S 500 PLUG-IN HYBRID offers our customers the entire range of innovations that make our new S-Class so successful, and thanks to its intelligent operating strategy ensures outstanding driving pleasure and dynamism combined with the highest efficiency. Moreover, it allows completely emission-free driving for up to 33 km,” said Ola Källenius, Executive Vice-President for Sales at Mercedes-Benz Cars.

The S 500 Plug-in Hybrid is powered by a twin-turbocharged three-liter V6 with 333 hp paired with an electric motor that outputs 116 hp, giving a combined horsepower of 442 hp and 650 Nm (479 lb ft) of torque.

The S 500 Plug-in Hybrid is powered by a twin-turbocharged three-liter V6 with 333 hp paired with an electric motor that outputs 116 hp, giving a combined horsepower of 442 hp and 650 Nm (479 lb ft) of torque.

Will Vetter, Assistant Product Manager of Mercedes-Benz USA, presents a detailed look into the new S 63 AMG 4MATIC in the perfect setting of Monterey, California.

Mercedes says their design goal for the S-Class is the “essence of luxury” and they sure have hit the nail on the head. With a base price of $92,900 the S550 is reserved for those who can live the life of luxury. On the inside of this luxury sedan there are high end materials everywhere. From the perforated leather trim, to the 2-tone dash, to the warm wood; the interior is a great place to spend time.

The driving experience is what you would expect from the luxury flagship that is the Mercedes S-Class. Under the hood there is a 4.7 liter twin-turbo V-8 that makes 455 horsepower. Keep in mind this is the entry level model. But cruising along in quite comfort and luxury is the way to go.