Mercedes-Benz has stripped the camouflage from its upcoming electric flagship.
The 2021 Mercedes-Benz EQS has been snapped in testing ahead of its reveal in the coming months.
It’ll be the first vehicle on the new Electric Vehicle Architecture, and enters production in the first half of the year alongside the S-Class in Sindelfingen, Germany.
The EQS will have exactly the electric range promised by the Vision EQS concept when it’s introduced. That means a total range of 700km under stricter WLTP measures.
The concept (above) featured a 100kWh lithium-ion battery and promised a 0-100km/h time of 4.5 seconds.
It’s a big ‘un, too: the concept measured 5295mm long on a 3260mm wheelbase, with a total width of 2077mm.
For context, that’s 178mm wider and 51mm longer than the current long-wheelbase S-Class with a 35mm longer wheelbase.
The production car will have a similarly aero-optimised shape as the concept, with a more unique roofline than the more traditional S-Class sedan.
Inside, the new EQS will debut a new MBUX ‘Hyperscreen’ stretching almost the entire width of the dash.
It features greater artificial intelligence and haptic feedback than the system in the current S-Class, which itself took a step forward from the infotainment used in lower-end cars such as the A-Class.
The 141cm-wide screen is surrounded by a plastic frame finished in silver, with integrated ambient lighting on the lower part creating a floating effect.
The front passenger has their own display measuring 2432.11cm2, though the entertainment functions will be locked out while the car is in motion in many jurisdictions.
If you’re travelling solo, the passenger part of the screen will instead display animated stars.
OLED technology is used in the centre and passenger displays, which means individual parts of the image are self-luminous and areas of the screen not being used appear deep black.
Colours are more vibrant and the graphics have a blue-and-orange colour scheme.
Mercedes-Benz says it has a zero-layer interface, meaning you don’t need to drill down through multiple menu levels.
The system will suggest functions like the active massage and remind you of birthdays when the system’s artificial intelligence deems these as relevant to the customer, something which Mercedes-Benz calls Magic Modules.
For example, the system will suggest you call a particular friend if you always ring them on the way home from work on a Tuesday and you’re logged into your individual profile on the system.
Likewise, it’ll suggest a hot stone massage if you use this feature frequently, and it’ll also remember the GPS position at which you’ve activated the Vehicle Lift-Up function to clear a tricky kerb.
The screen is also coated twice to reduce reflections and aid cleaning, while the curved glass consists of scratch-resistant aluminium silicate.
In the event of a crash, there are predetermined breaking points alongside the side outlet openings.
