Mercedes-Benz unveiled its newest addition to the S-Class line up in Frankfurt on Tuesday, the S-Class Cabriolet.

This is the first time since the 1971 280 SE Mercedes-Benz that the marque has boasted a four-seat luxury drop top at the very top of the model range. This newest addition completes the S-Class family and comes with fully automatic climate control that works in both top up and top down configurations.

The Aircap wind-protection system and Airscarf neck warming combine to keep occupants warm and toasty without having to keep the roof up. A total of 12 sensors and 18 actuators including a dewpoint sensor to keep the windscreen from fogging and two solar sensors to measure sunlight levels all work to maintain temperature.

The three-layer acoustic top can be opened or closed at speeds up to 60 km/h and takes 20 seconds to operate. When open, it folds into the luggage compartment where it is separated from the rest of the boot by a partition. The partition is retractable to maximise cargo volume when the roof is up.

Mercedes-Benz claims the S-Class Cabriolet has the same bodyshell weight of the Coupe on which it is based and shares 60 percent of its shell with. The use of magnesium and aluminum bracing and the use of an aluminum rear floor help keep weight down despite the addition of underfloor bracing and a new rear wall to aid in chassis rigidity.

The S 500 (550 in Canada) and AMG S 63 4 Matic editions were announced at the show while an AMG S 65 will be available later on. The S 500 sports the same 4.7L bi-turbo V8 good for 449 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque mated to a nine-speed automatic as the coupe, with the AMG S 63 also sharing its 577 hp power plant with the equivalent coupe.

In the event the driver uses too much right boot and puts the S-Clab on its lid, yaw-rate sensors will detect a rollover and fire the “pyrotechnically controlled” (aka explosive) rollover protection bars from behind the headrests.

The S-Class Cabriolet will be available in Europe from December this year.

S 550 AMG S 63 4MATIC AMG S 65
Engine 4.6 litre V8 Biturbo 5.5 litre AMG V8 Biturbo 6.0 litre AMG V12 Biturbo
Drive configuration Rear-wheel drive 4MATIC all-wheel drive Rear-wheel drive
Performance 449 hp
516 lb-ft torque		 577 hp
664 lb-ft torque		 621 hp
737 lb-ft torque
Transmission 9G-TRONIC AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT AMG SPEEDSHIFT
7G-TRONIC PLUS
0-60 sec 4.6 (est) 3.9 (est) 4.1 (est)
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