2015 S-Class Coupe: An excerise in restraint and power

I’m standing on a patio in the Tuscan hillside watching the sun slip behind the hills and a soft mist fill the valley. I have to pinch myself. A whirlwind trip to Italy and England with Mercedes-Benz has landed me here with beautiful growling machines burbling just outside the door, begging to be driven.

And drive them we did. My co-pilot and I carefully picked our way through picturesque Italian countryside and tiny hillside towns, stopping along the way for caffe and gelato that was so good it simply added to the surrealism of the entire experience.

Mercedes-Benz has just relaunched its luxury level Coupe line with a stunning long distance cruiser with all the accouterments that a buyer in this class would expect.

Hot stone massage? Check
Perfume dispenser? Check
Magic Body control? Check
The most advanced cruise control in the industry? Check

Add to that, the fact that the all-new S-Class Coupe is something special to behold and you have a heady mix of intoxicating design with power and comfort that remains, in my opinion, unrivaled. On the narrow Italian streets the wide body feels enormous-but that’s the case on any local European road where Fiat Pandas(!!!) still run wild. One of my favorite things about the car is the lack of a B-pillar between the front and rear. It makes for a beautiful and uninterrupted line but, it also significantly boosts your visibility from inside–making squeezing through those tight turns in Italy that much easier.

The rear of the car looks even better. It’s been lifted and tightened, as if it’s attended a few more Core Fusion Pilates classes. Everything sits in just the right spot, from the new LED headlights to the sharp looking–less saggy rear. The interior is just as luxurious as you would expect in a baby S-Class. Soft upholstered seats with detail stitching and seats that, even I, can get just right. At a lean 5’7″ it’s a rarity that I can get the side bolsters on any seats to hug me closely. That’s not the case with the S-Class Coupe. At every turn my ribs press gently into the seats. Turn on the active side bolsters and you get a goose-bump inducing sense of being hugged from behind by a gentle lover. Mix the sensation with a little AMG rumble from the sport exhaust in Manual or Sport mode and the drive becomes that much more engaging.

And if the S-Class Coupe leaves you wanting more, there’s always the S 63 AMG. The 577 hp horsepower, 4MATIC with its 33/67% power split, takes the S-Class coupe to another height. With plans to launch 7 more AMG versions, Mercedes has ambitious goals ahead of it. The S-Class Coupe is one of the first in that line this year–with an S 65 AMG planned for release in July, and if the S 63 AMG is any indication of what is to come from the small group out of Affalterbach, the competition is in trouble. For those discerning buyers with a pretty penny to spend, who might like something a bit more understated than a Bentley Continental GT Speed or Rolls-Royce Wraith, the S 63 AMG offers an alluring look and with a quick glance over a lean hip as it disappears over the next rise.

The S-Class Coupe will hit showrooms this fall–with pricing still to come.