Know the facts: Mercedes S-Class Coupe

There is no denying it - this is seriously good looking.

Throughout many years, Mercedes have always brought along a rather nice coupe version of its luxurious S-Class. I must admit, I never saw the point of it really. I mean, if you want a car as luxurious as an S, then obviously your main intention is not doing really sporty drives along the B1239, cornering as flat as possible. This is (kind of) what the CL was aimed for. All the luxury, without compromise on the sportiness. An S-Class with a crap ride and no room for passengers, basically.

But obviously, that last paragraph of mine was complete and utter rubbish, because the CL has clearly been successful enough to re-spawn in the new S-Class skin. Only now, the CL name is dead. Oh the horrors, not.

Same S-Class interior lives on

But hey, it's a new car; creatively called the S-Class Coupe, so I shall not judge it at all. This is a fact post, anyway. The new, curvy looking thing is due for official revealing at Geneva in March, but Mercedes have gone and released the car now. And my, isn't it handsome? (Yeah, ignore the back).

As with the saloon, the coupe has not been left out from its share of top-notch Mercedes goodies, notably the Magic Body Control - a clever little system that scans the road ahead and then prepares the suspension for any bumps or holes that may be coming. The result of this is a sublime ride, and a sublime advertising opportunity.

With the car's launch just weeks away, it is clear that there will be just one engine available from the word go. That engine shall be the 4.7L biturbo V8, coming with a fairly urgent 455bhp and a more impressive 516lb/ft of torque. That should be plenty for the luxury car that's meant to have a touch of sportiness to it.

What the hell happened to the rear?!?

Carrying on the sporty theme, the V8 will be tuned to be louder in the coupe than its saloon brother. Special flaps in the exhaust will open and close, to give maximum sound without that annoying burble at low revs. Performance-wise, don't expect to see much difference from the saloon. So just under five seconds to 60 and a limited 155mph top speed. Lovely.

There is no doubt that this car shouts 'Expensive Merc coming through' with its pointy nose and striking lines, but if you think it's a little too subtle, you can just casually tick the box to include 47 Swarovski crystals in each headlight. OK then.