New S-class to lead a flurry of new Benz models

MERCEDES-BENZ has embarked on the new model cycle it has needed to combat the Bavarian juggernaut that has seen BMW cleaning-up in Australian passenger car and 4WD wagon sales since 2004.

Although total BMW sales last year were less than Mercedes, that was only because of the strength of the Benz light commercial range, which includes the Sprinter and Vito vans that accounted for around 3500 extra units.

Whereas BMW has in recent times introduced the 1 Series, 6 Series, the X3 4WD and now the all-new 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz had, until recently, relied on the limited-volume SLK to add any real excitement to its range.

The new A-class is too fresh to make much of an impact on year-to-date sales and various engine and specification changes in other models have only served to maintain interest.

However, the arrival of the A-class, the beautiful CLS four-door coupe and the new M-class 4WD is the beginning of a flurry of activity that should see the Stuttgart brand in a resurgent mode over the next year or so.

The managing director of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars in Australia, Horst von Sanden, outlined the company’s new-model activity at the recent launch of theM-class in Tasmania, listing at least four new models that should arrive here within 18 months.

These include the M-class-based G-class, the boxy, utilitarian off-roader aimed at the serious 4WD market and promised for delivery to Australian showrooms – if he is still at the helm – in 2007.

The G-class is a 4WD rather than an "SUV" and revisits the pragmatic and primitive Gelaendewagen that was discontinued here in the 1980s. It adds M-class luxuries, including unitary body construction and all-independent suspension, to create an off-roader that should be perfectly comfortable on thetarmac as well as off-road.

Meantime, the next new Mercedes model to follow the just-launched M-class will be the flared and flamboyant S-class.

The new flagship of the Mercedes range is expected to arrive here in early 2006, in S500 form, followed soon after by the S350 with the new 3.5-litre V6 first seen in the E-class early this year.

The S-class will carry the bold new styling signature being established by the company and will polarise opinions just as surely as the BMW 7 Series did when it was first launched, in E66 form, in 2002.

In mid-2006 we’ll see the R-class, which is the first Benz car-like people-moverand will be capable of transporting six passengers in sumptuous style within a body that is longer than the S-class.

Engine choices available to Mercedes-Benz in Australia will include the same diesel V6, petrol V6 and V8 engines, and the 5.0-litre V8 available in the new M-class.

Also mid-year we can expect to see the rampaging new ML63, claimed by Mercedes-Benz to have the most powerful volume production, normally aspirated V8 available on the world market.

The 6.3-litre engine produces 375kW and 630Nm, and is said to be capable of accelerating the two-tonne-plus 4WD from zero to 100km/h in just five seconds – which is as fast as a Porsche 911.

Benz could also at some stage consider the astonishing R63 AMG as a top-of-the-range people-mover titillation. The R63 uses the same AMG-built 375kW engine as the ML63, so there’s no doubt that what Benz has here is indeed the world’s fastest people-mover.

What's coming from Benz:

S-class luxury sedan - early 2006
R-class people-mover - mid-2006
ML63 sports 4WD - mid-2006
G-class hardcore 4WD - 2007