Mercedes S-Class launched in India at Rs. 1.57 crore

German luxury carmaker, Mercedes-Benz has launched the sixth and latest incarnation (W222) of its flagship model, the S-Class sedan in India at a price of Rs. 1.57 crore (ex-showroom Delhi).

The new S-Class will be available in only one variant to start with, the S500. The car features a 4663 cc, twin-turbocharged, V8, petrol power plant that produces 453 hp and 700 Nm of torque, mated to a 7G-Tronic Plus automatic gearbox. Mercedes claims the S500 can touch 100 kph from a standstill in 4.8 seconds and has an electronically limited top speed of 250 kph. The car is available only with rear-wheel drive in India.

The W222 is 5,246 mm long, 1,899 mm wide, 1,494 mm high and tips the scales at a massive 2,200 kg.

The S500 is imported from Germany as a CBU and all the 125 launch edition units of the car have been sold. Customers, who book their cars from today, will be given delivery only in April.

Mercedes has plans to assemble a variant of the new S-Class at its facility at Chakan, Pune. Dubbed S350 CDI, it will be powered by a 3.5-litre, diesel motor and will be priced considerably lower than the S500. The S350 CDI is likely to be available in the second half of 2014.