Cars

S-Class: Mercedes celebrates 'timeless masterpiece'

By Han Tianyang (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-27 13:44

As the inventor of automobile, Mercedes-Benz has been distinguishing itself as the automotive brand with the longest and most celebrated history for nearly 125 years. In particular, its flagship model S-Class has differentiated itself with a rich legacy of six decades and nine generations - the most extensive and illustrious of any luxury car.

The third generation S-Class 'Fintail', the world's first patented rigid passenger cell with front and rear crumple zones.

To celebrate the upcoming 60th anniversary of S-Class and present the history of its exclusive top model to more people, Mercedes-Benz held a media workshop entitled "Timeless Masterpiece: the S-Class Hall of Fame" on August 25 in the art museum of China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA).

"With a history of 60 years and nine generations, the S-Class plays an integral role in the development of the Mercedes-Benz's 125-year heritage," said Klaus Maier, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd.

Driving an S-Class saloon himself every day, Maier spoke highly of the car as "perfect in all aspects" that truly demonstrates the company's slogan - the best or nothing.

"The S-Class has always stood at the pinnacle of the world's top luxury car segment with pioneering technical breakthroughs, bringing state-of-the-art craftsmanship, elegant design and innovative technologies that set the pace among competitors worldwide," he said.

China has become the largest market for Mercedes-Benz S-Class since 2008, where the company offers nine versions of the car - the widest model range compared with other markets worldwide.

In July alone, the company delivered 2,440 units of this top model to the Chinese customers, marking a 218 percent surge over the same month last year and pushing the combined sales of S-Class in the first seven month to over 11,600 units.

"This relentless growth of the S-Class has not only strengthened Mercedes-Benz's brand image, but it has also played a major role in contributing to our overall success," said Executive Vice President Bjoern Hauber, Sales & Marketing, Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd.

Now about 20 percent of all the S-Class sold in China are the S 400 Hybrid, which was first introduced in China in August last year, said Maier, noting that the car shows the company's commitment to protection of environment as well as its leading technology in respect to green luxury vehicles.

In the eyes of Maier, S-Class' strong sales performance in China could be in part attributed to its role as a symbol of status and achievement, which is widely recognized by the nation's leaders and elites in political and business circles.

Also, the flagship model of Mercedes-Benz - in every generation - featured pioneering technology innovation at that time, which later would be installed in other Mercedes-Benz cars and automobiles of other manufactures in the industry as well.

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Two experts from Germany were invited to the workshop in China to guide the visitors through a visual journey of the model's six-decade history and explain important innovation that every generation had made in the automotive industry.

"In fact, you could say that there's a piece of S-Class to be found in every modern vehicle," said Dr Helmut Groesser, senior manager of Product Management at Mercedes-Benz Cars.

In terms of safety, major breakthroughs include the world's first Anti-lock Brake System first applied in the fifth generation S-Class in 1978, the driver airbag and belt tensioner offered by the six-generation model in the 1981, as well as the world's first Electronic Stability Program (ESP) that was equipped on the seventh-generation model in 1995.

Both the ABS and the ESP system are vital contributions to active safety and today the automotive commonplaces, said Juergen Wittmann, senior manager of Archives & Collection at Mercedes-Benz Cars Brand Communication.