S-Class History

Without the possibility of overstatement, the S-Class is the most storied and celebrated flagship line of the automotive world.

Curiously, Mercedes-Benz claims their latest rendition S-Klasse to be the "ninth generation."
I can only assume that Mercedes-Benz refers to post-war Benzes, and as one notes from the above picture; there are only six predecessors. This begs the question: where are the missing three?

I postulate that the W187 - the red Benz pictured furthest left underwent several redesigns before the W111 successor. Each of those redesigns were likely to have different chassis designations.

For your edification, I have listed the following historical timeline of the S-Class.


Chassis / (Date) / Flagship Model

1. W187 /(1951-1958) / 300 S
2. W111 / (1959-1971) / 300SEL
3. W116 / (1972-1980) / 450SEL 6.9
4. W126 / (1979-1991) / 500SEL / 560SEL
5. W140 / (1992-1998) / 600SEL / S600
6. W220 / (1999-2006) /S600
   

The latest S-Class (2007 - ) is the W221. The next flagship will be the S600. Currently, only the S550 is available for purchase in the North American market.

Tap the link for more information on the S-Class: MBUSA