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Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe to be “significantly sportier” than CL

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe is set to debut at the Detroit motor show in January as a lighter, faster and far sportier replacement for the outgoing CL-Class.


Speaking at the international launch of the sixth-generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan in Toronto, Canada, head of product management for S-Class and roadsters Lutz Regelmann confirmed the brand will “very soon show a design study of the vehicle, which will give you a clear reference about what the car is going to look like”.

He also explained why he is “excited” about broadening the S-Class range.

“The current S-Class coupe [CL] is a sedan with two doors,” he began.

“The new one will be a real GT, a Gran Turismo, it will change its character. It will of course be an elegant two-door limousine but it will be much more sporty.”

Regelmann confirmed the S-Class Coupe will have a redesigned front and shortened rear to position the car as a much more dynamic offering compared with the outgoing CL-Class.

His assertions match up closely with the prototypes spied by CarAdvice’s photographers. In addition to showing a more heavily raked turret and completely different front and rear styling, the S-Class Coupe also appears to have retained the B-pillar-less, doorframe-less design of the CL-Class.

“You will see many more lines, more shoulders at the rear, it is a completely new design at the rear, a completely different front design, and it will be extremely sporty.

“We will keep the long front, but the rear will be much … shorter, more masculine.

“It [S-Class Coupe] gets much more dynamic, much more fresh also. It widens up from … a group of more traditional customers, to [those] who like to have a luxury car with a sporty element.”

In addition to less rear overhang, the wheelbase will be shortened compared with the S-Class sedan to achieve a much higher level of dynamic finesse, according to Regelmann.

“More dynamic, shorter [wheelbase] of course,” he confirmed.

“Otherwise you cannot get the dynamics. We have three-metres-something [wheelbase] for the sedan, we need to shorten that otherwise we cannot get the dynamics. We are going to offer an AMG version, of course, you need to have the dynamics.”

The S-Class Coupe will be “absolutely” different in character to the S-Class sedan and current CL-Class, in order to target sportier competitiors like the Bentley Continental GT and Maserati GranTurismo.

“When you look at the competition, when you talk about the Aston Martin, or you talk about the Maserati, you know what the direction is. With the current CL we would not talk about an Aston Martin [because] you would just smile. With the new one we can make it. Open and confidently.

“We definitely think we can target a Maserati [GranTurismo], we think we can target a Bentley [Continental GT].

“When you talk about the driving dynamics, other cars may be very sporty, but only sporty. When you talk about the S-Class platform, and you put it into a CL, you see how perfect the car can be.

“We are somehow in our own in that sense because it isn’t as high priced as a Bentley. We have a different entry price and, we think we can in terms of also lifestyle, quality and perfection we will definitely exceed the other brands.

“That’s not a marketing sentence, that’s just a fact.”

Regelmann hopes to both lower the average buyer age compared with the CL-Class, and also, obviously, increase sales, by making the S-Class faster and sharper.

“I had a discussion with AMG about how fast the car can be. It’s a quantum leap I would say, but the figures themselves are not certified yet. The car will be much faster. Definitely.”

The character shift with the S-Class Coupe means Australia will pass on the sedan version of the S65 AMG, leaving an ultra-sporty halo model exclusively for the two-door version, which will continue with a V12 engine despite tightening emissions regulations.

“We’re not going to bring S65 sedan,” confirmed Mercedes-Benz Australia corporate communications manager David McCarthy. “[But] as a coupe, yep.”

“[But] there won’t be a six-cylinder, there’ll just be a 500, 600, a 63 and 65."

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