If only the authors knew that the 2013 S-Class has been in the showrooms for quite a while already!

Looks like a compilation of all the previously release rumors, no new information.

I'm confuse! So the new body style s class is already in showrooms?

No, the new body style hasn't come out. 2013 S-Class is still W221.

Ok you got me. But clearly an oversight of the author. Looking at diagrams and the spy photo posted I do believe this is a peek into what's to come in the next generation S which would be a 2014 introduced in 2013. I have followed closely for a while. I need out of my 740 Li. I have come to terms with the fact that luxury is more important than "performance". I miss my S

If it gets introduced in May of next year, it will probably hit the European showrooms as MY2014 there and possibly in 2014 as MY2015 in the US (much like W221 did). The general info on W222 has been available for a while, but no specifics yet. Just the fact that they showed a "concept" at the Paris show this year instead of the actual car tells me that they may be running a bit behind (or waiting for the economy to improve).

There is a general misunderstanding of European model year designation in the US.

In Germany, for example, if the W222 is introduced in 2013, it will be the 2013 model, not the 2014. It will just be called "the new S-Class"

Right now, you will buy the 2012 S-Class in Germany while you are buying the 2013 version in the US. Hint: its the same car.

What the poster showed was some W222 details, which will be a 2013 model in Europe, in the US at least a 2014

Just marketing and sales lingo in the US...

W222 will have about seven additional driving assistance-systems on top of what we have available in our W221's now .
For this it will have an extensive amount of sensors and radars under which:

• short-range radar front
• long-range radar front (Range 200 yards)
• lateral short-range radar
• Multi-mode radar back
• stereo camera, range 500 meters)
• 12 ultrasonic sensors
• Four cameras for the 360-degree view

Here an impression of the exented version:
http://www.focus.de/fotos/offenbar-p...d_1025962.html

Here is some new info:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-new...-tech-pictures

Thanks! I like all the features but one...

Avoiding rear impacts

A new multi-mode rear sensor detects if a vehicle is about to crash into the back of your S-Class. When stationary, if a vehicle is closing too fast on your car, first the S-Class flashes its indicators as a warning. If an impact is sensed, the S-Class holds on the brakes, so that you avoid a secondary collision.

I'm not sure if this is entirely good. Granted you don't want the car pushed onto a busy street but apart from that I'd rather have the car travel a bit when rear-ended so that some of the impact energy is transferred into motion and not to make that impact even more severe for your spine.

Anyone care to chime in on this? If someone hits you at 45 mph I'd really not want the car to lock its brakes and absorb that entire impact. I'd like the car to actually be pushed forward a bit and let that motion act as a bit of a crumple zone to dissipate the crash energy.

This seems like a bad design to me. It's almost as if Mercedes designed this system to increase the likelihood that you will be injured more because the car would be absorbing more of the crash energy to save getting into a fender bender with the car in front of you....

Of course there would be a difference when in motion f.i.: in a traffic jam when slowly moving, the above mentioned solution seems reasonable;combined with the seatbelt tensioning feature.
In different scenarios a different solution would be optimal ,the article does not state however how hard the 'braking-pressure' will be applied in any given scenario..
Convinced that the Daimler-Benz engineers have done their homework and have come up with another innovative safety measure .

Noted that personally I like all this 'gadgetry' very much.
But wishing sometimes to have the option to turn all these systems off and do the driving myself the old fashioned way with 'common sense'.
I do not always want to be warned when deliberately trying to find the fysical boundaries of the vehicule.
All good and well ,nowadays many impopular safety systems have become mandatory by the lawmaker to protect people against their own 'common sense' .
Maybe in the future this system will be also one of them time will tell ,one criterium would probably be wether it proves to safe enough lifes.