The Mercedes-Benz S-class introduced for 2014 is due for a mid-term facelift next spring, and the most interesting changes are happening under the hood. Benz’s plutocrat barge will be the first model to house some of the company’s new generation of inline six-cylinder engines, although those won’t be coming to the U.S. until later.
We will be getting a new entry-level S-class, to be called S450, that will employ the M276 twin-turbocharged V-6 as found in today’s GLS450 and the SL450, where it’s rated at a generous 362 horsepower. To put it into perspective, that’s just 27 horsepower short of the iconic 6.0-liter V-12 launched in the W140 S-Class.
Europe, by contrast, will see the new and tech-laden M256 3.0-liter straight-six, rated at “over 402 horsepower” and employing an electric turbocharger, a large exhaust turbocharger and an integrated starter-generator. While it won’t be offered in the U.S. initially, we expect to see it migrate to our market over the next few years.
Those who think that the prestige of an S-class demands the extra power and cylinder count of a V-8, the smallest engine available today, should watch for a variation of the M176 4.0-liter V-8 (photo above), which was developed by AMG but is slated to replace the current S550’s 449-horsepower, 4.7-liter eight-cylinder in Benz-badged models, too. It will employ a cylinder-deactivation system to operate as a V-4 under low- and medium-load condit...