Mercedes-Benz: 'We have invented the car again.'

The "best automobile in the world" - the All New S-Class by vehicle inventor Mercedes-Benz - is coming to China.

The three-pointed star shined at the Mercedes-Benz Arena and Huangpu River in Shanghai Friday night with the launch of its latest flagship model, showcasing what "ambition to lead" means in automotive excellence.

"With 10 generations of heritage, a host of cutting-edge technologies and extraordinary aesthetics, there is no doubt that the new S-Class is the best automobile in the world," said Nicholas Speeks, president and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co Ltd.

"And you know what makes it so marvelous? We created it with China in mind. We took the tastes and needs of our biggest S-Class market into account from the very beginning."

Available to Chinese consumers with four model variants, new S-Class offerings include the S 400 L EXCLUSIVE, S 400 L LUXURY, S 400 L Hybrid and S 500 L priced at 1,248,000 yuan, 1,418,000 yuan, 1,488,000 yuan and 2,098,000 yuan, respectively.

"China is the top market for our S-Class, where Chinese customers have in the years since 2009 accounted for more than 50 percent of all sales of our flagship range worldwide," said Speeks.

"With the new car, more than 100 of our most valued customers have contributed directly in the development process. As a result the S-Class has been developed with the long-wheel base version that reflects Chinese requirements and which we are sure will serve to make this latest generation a smash hit among both existing S-Class owners and also those acquiring the best car in the world for the first time."

New benchmark

The new S-Class launch ceremony fused the classic with the modern and East with West. The show continued as traditional Chinese mountain and water elements were used to highlight Mercedes-Benz' proclamation of "We have invented the car, again!"

With its classic front-end styling, the new S-Class is unmistakably Mercedes-Benz.

The carmaker's hallmark "dropping line" elegantly structures the side wall, while the exterior mirrors and door handles have been optimized to appear even more stylish. As well as elegant, these design details have aerodynamic advantages, giving the new model a best-in-class drag coefficient of 0.24.

Reaffirming Mercedes-Benz' commitment to integrated and all-around safety, the Intelligent Drive package elevates driving safety to a new level.

It also means saying goodbye to Thomas Edison.

"It is the first car in the world without a single light bulb. Instead, it contains nearly 500 LEDs, which not only make the vehicle feel more modern, but also make it more efficient thanks to the longer life and lower energy consumption," said Bjrn Hauber, executive vice-president of sales and marketing with BMBS. "The new full LED headlamps consume 75 percent less energy than conventional headlamps."

In addition to enhanced safety with Intelligent Drive it also offers greatly improved performance.

The new S-Class boasts class-leading efficiency with up to 20 percent less fuel consumption when compared with the outgoing model series.

As well, it sets the bar for personal luxury.

This starts with the cabin where flowing interior lines separate the driver from passengers.

Meanwhile, seven options for ambient lighting envelop the interior in warm colors. In addition to visuals, attention has also been paid to smell. It features the world's first "perfume atomizer", and comes with four unique high-quality fragrances.

Ionization and more efficient filtration complement the system and work in concert to ensure a cleaner, fresher atmosphere.

"As you can imagine, taking part in defining the future is a dream job for the industry's top engineers. It's also the most demanding because it requires imagination and vision," said Speeks. "But engineers at Mercedes-Benz took on that challenge and succeeded with this All New S-Class."

From left: Xu Heyi, Party secretary & chairman of Beijing Automobile Group Co Ltd, Hubertus Troska, chairman & CEO of Daimler Greater China Ltd, famous singers Liu Huan and Na Ying, Nicholas Speeks, president and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co Ltd, and Bjrn Hauber, executive vice-president of sales and marketing with BMBS, were all on hand in to introduce the newest version of Mercedes-Benz' flagship model on Sept 28, Shanghai.