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Next-generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class to be sedan-only – report

When Mercedes-Benz introduced the current S-Class Cabriolet in 2016, it was the first factory droptop available in the Sonderklasse line since 1971.


It may also be the last.

Autocar reports the S-Class Cabriolet and its coupe sibling will end production in 2022, the next generation of S-Class going sedan-only.

 

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Mercedes-Benz is undertaking various cost-cutting measures and aiming to save €1.4 billion ($2.3 billion) over the next three years.

Those cuts include axing 10,000 jobs and discontinuing lower-volume models.

The company has already axed one droptop, the SLC-Class.

 

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The discontinuation of the two-door S-Class models leaves grand tourer duty exclusively to the SL-Class, though it’s only a two-seater.

It’s also moving to the Modular Sports Architecture (MSA) which it'll share with the next-generation Mercedes-AMG GT.

That likely means it’ll be smaller and sportier than before.

The next S-Class sedan, set to debut this year and reach showrooms in 2021, uses a re-engineered version of Mercedes’s Modular Rear-wheel-drive Architecture (MRA).

It’ll feature an all-new electrical architecture that’ll allow for level 3 autonomous driving and driverless valet parking.

Autocar reports the new S-Class’s engine range will include a 2.9-litre inline six-cylinder turbodiesel and a turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder petrol, both of which will be available with plug-in hybrid technology.

Higher-spec models will be available with the turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 petrol engineered by Mercedes-AMG, which will feature mild-hybrid technology.

Daimler CEO Ola Källenius has also confirmed the next-generation S-Class will keep the option of a V12 engine.

 

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While there’ll be a choice of both standard and extended-length sedans, there’ll be no other body styles.

The A217-series S-Class convertible was the last full-size Mercedes convertible since the W111 and W112-series Benzes ended production in 1971.

The C217-series coupe returned a two-door coupe to the S-Class range, full-size Benz coupes having worn the CL-Class badge since the 1990s.

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