GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: S-Class Coupe world debut

Mercedes-Benz will use next month’s Geneva motor show to unveil the production version of the S-Class Coupe it previewed at Frankfurt last September, complete with some additions to the S-Class two-door’s dazzling array of electronic trickery.

The headline act among these pieces of software and hardware is the optional Curve Tilting Function, which allows the big, pillarless coupe to lean into corners by as much as 2.5 degrees to help flatten out its cornering profile.

It’s said by Benz to be a logical extension of its Active Body Control and Road Surface Scan functions, both of which are geared up towards more comfort-oriented work in the limousine.

But with its twin-turbo 4663cc V8 pumping out 335kW of power and 700Nm of torque in the S 500 Coupe, Benz has switched the focus of the system to garner more grip without losing its poise.

Each suspension damper can have its damping force hydraulically adjusted, allowing the computers to tilt the car to suit the road conditions and the driving style.

Between 30 and 180km/h, the system uses a stereo camera in the windscreen, which the software uses to calculate the road angle up to 15 metres ahead, and an accelerometer to determine how hard the car is being driven.

“The Active Curve Tilting function demonstrates the possibilities offered by Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Drive,” said Prof Dr Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG with responsibility for development.

“The vehicle leans into bends much like a motorcyclist, thereby reducing the lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle's occupants. On country roads in particular, this means greater driving pleasure and ride comfort for our customers.”

While it isn’t the only piece of software on the S-Class Coupe (there’s a dazzling array of acronyms there for the enthusiastic to decipher), the re-defining of the existing S-Class system indicates Benz has faster things in mind for its big coupe.

It also introduces a refinement of the S-Class’s Collision Prevention Assist Plus, with which it can brake independently of the driver to avoid a crash at anywhere up to 105km/h.

A replacement for the outgoing CL-Class, the S-Class Coupe is still a large machine, stretching out to 5027mm long, 1899mm wide and 1411mm high. It sits on a 2945mm wheelbase to make it one of the longest-riding cars in the two-door world.

“It’s as exclusive as it gets,” said Ola Källenius, Member of the Board of Management, Sales and Marketing for Mercedes-Benz Cars.

“The breath-taking design of the Concept S-Class Coupé marked by sporty-classic proportions and sensual purity is transferred to the series-production S-Class Coupé virtually unaltered. The large coupé has always been the supreme pinnacle of our model range and that's why it's now called the ‘S-Class’ again.”

And if that opulence wasn’t sufficiently visible to outsiders, the S-Class Coupe can now come with an LED headlight with 47 Swarovski crystals in them – 30 in the indicators and another 17 in the daytime running lamps.

Then there’s the glass roof. Covering a full 1.32 square meters of real estate, or two-thirds of the S-Class Coupe’s total roof area, the roof gets the full Magic Sky treatment (which debuted in the SLK a couple of years ago), so can be switched from near-dark to clear at the push of a button.

Running on a range of wheels ranging from 18- to 20-inch, the big coupe uses a high beltline, a long bonnet and a low glasshouse to emphasise its differences to the limousine it’s based on.

Even so, it carries over most of the sedan’s interior features, including its pair of TFT information screens and switchgear, along with its full-colour, 70x210mm head-up display system.