The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a series of luxury sedans produced by German automaker Mercedes-Benz, a division of German company Daimler AG. The classification was officially introduced in 1972 with the W116
S-Class, which succeeded previous Mercedes-Benz models dating to the
mid-1950s. The S-Class has served as the flagship model for Mercedes for
over fifty years in its various incarnations. The S-Class has debuted
many of the company's latest innovations, including drivetrain
technologies, interior features, and safety systems (such as the first
seatbelt pretensioners).
The S-Class has ranked as the world's best-selling luxury sedan, and its latest generation, the W221 S-Class, premiered in 2005 as an
all-new design. As in previous iterations, the W221 S-Class is sold in
standard- and long-wheelbase versions; V6, V8, V12, diesel and hybrid powertrains are offered. All models built in Mexico or sold in the United States are only available in long wheelbase.
"S-Class" is an anglicisation of ""S-Klasse," a German abbreviation of "Sonderklasse,"
which means "special class" (in the sense of "a class of its own"). In
automotive terms thus refers to "a specially outfitted car". Although
used colloquially for decades, following its official application in
1972, five generations of officially named S-Class sedans have been
produced. Past two-door coupe models of the S-Class were known as SEC
and later S-Coupe. In 1998 the S class coupe was spun off in a separate
line as the CL-Class, however it will be re-designated as the S-Coupe for the 2013 model year.
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Predecessor models
=> Mercedes-Benz W180/W128Also Called 220a/220S/220SE (1954 - 1961)
=> Mercedes-Benz W111/W112
Also Called
220/220S/220SE/230S/250SE/280SE/280SE 3.5 (1959 - 1971)
=> Mercedes-Benz W108 & W109
Also Called
250S/SE/280S/SE & 300SE (1965 - 1972)
S-Class models
=> Mercedes-Benz S-Class W116
Also Called
280S/SE/SEL, 350/450SE/SEL, 300SD (1972 - 1980)
=> Mercedes-Benz S-Class W126
Also called 280/300/380SE/SEL, 420/500/560SE/SEL/SEC, 300/350SD/SDL (December 1979—April 1992)
=> Mercedes-Benz S-Class W140
Also called
300SE/SEL, 400/500/600SEL, 500/600SEC, 300SDL, 350SDL (April 1991–August 1998)
=> Mercedes-Benz S-Class W220
Also called
S280, S320, S420, S350, S430, S500, S600, S320 CDI, S55, S63, S65 (August 1998–July 2005)
=> Mercedes-Benz S-Class W221
Also called
S250 CDI, S300, S350 (BlueEFFICIENCY, BlueTEC), S400 HYBRID, S450, S550(500), S600, S320/S420 CDI, S63, S65 (2005 - 2013)
Sumber: Wikipedia