Next Mercedes S-Class will raise the game once again
Facelifted luxury limo due in early 2026 will build on the best, launching tech you’ve not even thought about yet
The Mercedes S-Class has long been the pinnacle of new-age engineering – and despite rivals now matching the flagship saloon punch for punch, company CEO Ola Källenius is confident his team will pull out all the stops for the updated car due early next year.
Given that the car has built a reputation for being ahead of the curve in terms of luxurious technology and cutting-edge features, excitement is building for the updated S-Class. But any concerns that the new model might pale in significance compared with the car it’s set to replace, were quelled recently.
“There is some inner unrest for what is next”, Källenius told Auto Express. “But rest assured, nobody has run out of ideas when it comes to S-Class. We will have plenty for you”. During a previous report on the brand’s financial results, the boss stated that the company had "invested a lot more in the model update of the new combustion-engined S-Class than we normally spend on a facelift".
Exactly what form this investment will take remains to be seen, though Källenius did say that “of course it [will get] MB.OS upgrades” – possibly including a version of the firm’s Hyperscreen infotainment set-up from the EQS electric saloon. He also confirmed the updated car, which we’ve caught testing on numerous occasions in standard, AMG and even Maybach forms, will be revealed “next year”.
While the various sets of spy shots keep most of the car’s design hidden, we can pick out a larger grille (still in Mercedes’ ‘Panamericana’ shape), flanked by two slightly reshaped headlights that use the brand’s new three-pointed star daytime running-light style already seen on the recently updated EQS and upcoming electric CLA.
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Changes at the rear include new lights that look to be inspired by the latest E-Class, featuring yet more three-pointed star motifs. These sit above a prominent set of exhaust finishers at the bottom of the lower bumper. The S 63, which we spotted most recently, not only has extra cooling at the front in the form of larger vents, but at the rear the quad-tip exhaust layout has also been retained with a subtle central diffuser.
The powertrain line-up is unlikely to change drastically, though minor tweaks should bring improvements to performance and efficiency. For example, we may see the plug-in hybrid S 450 e’s 22kWh usable battery swapped for the GLC and GLE’s slightly larger 25kWh pack – allowing a small boost to the existing car’s 63-mile EV range.
We also hope to see similar changes made to the S 63 E Performance variant, which currently makes do with a pitiful 13.1kWh battery for a miserly 21-mile EV range. The upside is that that electrical assistance is backed up by a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8, producing a combined 791bhp and 1,430Nm of torque. All is not lost, clearly.
The current seventh-generation Mercedes S-Class went into production in 2020, with a range of petrol, diesel and hybrid engines, leaving all-electric power to the EQS. That won’t change with the facelifted S-Class, because Mercedes claims it has a range of ‘future-proof’ engines ready to meet Euro 7 emissions guidelines. That line-up spans six and eight-cylinder units, with 12-cylinder options still being made for certain markets.
Beyond this year, Mercedes has said, investments into combustion-engine technology will remain limited, thanks in part to a “reduction in powertrain complexity” and “modularisation between BEV and electrified hi-tech ICE products”.
Further hybridisation should be part of the powertrain strategy. However, the brand’s pragmatic approach to offering diesels in models that fundamentally suit them should mean they remain an option here in the UK – although that’s not a given when rivals such as BMW and Audi no longer offer any diesel variants of their full-size saloons.
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