First official snap of new S Class out in the open

The first official photo of the new Mercedes-Benz S Class is out in the open.

The photo was uploaded inadvertently by the company on its mobile website in Austria before being removed.

Luckily, French auto website blogautomobile.fr was able to publish the image. The car will have its official world premiere on May 15th.

The pictures make it clear that the German automaker is back in form with the design for the new S Class (codenamed W222). The smooth flowing, liquid style gives the car the right amount of grace, and also hides the bulk of what is a large car. 

As is usual since the launch of the first S Class back in 1972, the new car will unveil a host of brand new features. The new car is packed with sensors; among them being 6 radar units (3 front & 3 rear), 7 cameras and 12 ultrasonic parking sensors. The 2014 S-class is the world’s first automobile to use only Light Emitting Diode (LED) illumination technology. All lighting requirements for the headlight, tail-lamp, turn-indicators and interiors are provided by 190+ LED's (they consume only 1/4th the power). 

Driver aids are improved and include Distronic Plus, Active Lane-Keeping Assist, Attention Assist, Active Parking Assist, Brake Assist Plus, Pre-Safe Impulse, Pre-Safe Plus and Night View Assist Plus.