SPY PICS: Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe

We’ve seen the redesigned Mercedes-Benz S-Class , now stand by for the all-new S-Class Coupe.

Pictured here for the first time undergoing development testing at the Nurburgring, the big two-door luxury coupe will replace the CL-Class globally next year.

Falling into line with the model naming policy seen with the C-Class Coupe and E-Class Coupe, the S-Class Coupe is likely to make its first official appearance later this year, following the international launch of the new W222-series S-Class limousine in the US in July, and its Australian release in September.

While the flagship Benz four-door will also spawn long-wheelbase and even longer Pullman limos to fill the void vacated by Daimler’s discontinued Maybach uber-luxury brand, the new S-Class Coupe will also be joined by a two-door S-Class Cabriolet to sell alongside the smaller SL in Australia.

The current CL was released in 2006 and facelifted in 2010, but the current SL-Class was only launched here last year.

Although the CL is decidedly ‘niche’ in Australia, where just one example has been sold so far this year, the SL has attracted 68 buyers in the same period – one more than the number of new Porsche 911s sold and within 20 sales of BMW’s top-selling 6 Series coupe, convertible and sedan range. Benz in Australia will be enviously eyeing the sales success of BMW's four-place 6 Series with a view to sharing that success too. But the three-pointed star hasn't had a direct competitor before now.

As evidenced by these Automedia spy shots, the S-Class Coupe features slightly different front-end styling to the four-door upon which it’s based, wearing what appear to be slimmer, more ‘surprised’ versions of the latest SL’s headlights.

Underneath the sleeker two-door skin should be a variation of the new hybrid steel and aluminium body that reduces weight by as much as 100kg in the new S-Class. The coupe could be even slipperier than the sedan, which is billed as the “most aerodynamically efficient luxury limousine ever” with an ultra-low aerodynamic drag coefficient of just 0.24Cd.

Expect the S-Class Coupe engine line-up to also reflect that of its sedan namesake, meaning a range of turbocharged V6, V8 and even V12 engines. Benz is developing a new twin-turbo 3.0-litre petrol V6 that could also power its new coupe flagship, which may eventually also borrow the S-Class limo’s ground-breaking plug-in hybrid drive system.

For reference, the new S-Class launch range will be topped by the S 500, powered by a 335kW/700Nm 4.6-litre petrol V8 that sips 8.6L/100km but propels it to 100km/h in just 4.8 seconds.

The S 400 HYBRID combines a 225kW/370Nm 3.5-litre petrol V6 with a 20kW/250Nm electric motor to consume just 6.3L/100km and hit 100km/h in 6.8 seconds, making it as rapid as the S 350 BlueTEC, which comes with a 190kW/620Nm 3.0-litre diesel V6  that consumes just  5.5L/100km.

Finally, the S 300 BlueTEC HYBRID combines a 2.2-litre diesel four-cylinder (150kW/500Nm) with an electric motor (20kW/250Nm) to offer a Prius-like combined cycle average of just 4.4L/100km and the ability to 100km/h in 7.6 seconds in a vehicle weighing close to two tonnes.

Incredibly, next year’s S 500 Plug-In HYBRID is claimed to consume less than 4.0L/100km and 75g/km of CO2 emissions.

Many of the W222’s ground-breaking safety aids should also appear in the historic German brand’s new top-shelf two-door, including airbag-equipped seatbelts, a whiplash-preventing rear radar system and the ability to drive itself in traffic.

The current CL family opens at $336,500 for the twin-turbo 4.7-litre CL 500 and also includes the twin-turbo 5.5-litre V8 CL 63 AMG ($422,800), twin-turbo 5.5-litre V12 CL 600 ($425,100) and twin-turbo 6.0-litre CL 65 AMG ($518,715) – Merc’s most expensive model in Australia this side of the SLS AMG Black Series.

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