2027 Mercedes-Benz S-Class First Drive: Big Tech, Bigger Power, Same Flagship Mission
A new AI-powered OS and evolved V-8 make Mercedes’ flagship sedan smarter than ever.
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class has been the three-pointed star’s flagship sedan since 1972, the car that has come to epitomize the company’s engineering expertise. It has routinely debuted cutting-edge technologies such as airbags and antilock brakes and stability control that would eventually trickle down to lesser automobiles. So it comes as a bit of a shock to learn that one of the headline technologies of the 2027 S-Class lineup debuted on an entry-level Mercedes first. MB:OS, the in-house-developed operating system at the heart of the refreshed car’s impressive electronic capabilities, made its debut on the CLA sedan, the third-cheapest Mercedes currently on sale in the U.S.
That reflects a new reality of modern automaking: Software is tricky stuff, and bugs will almost invariably lurk among the millions of lines of code that define a software architecture as complex as MB:OS. Best, then, to run the real-world stress tests, to flush out the bugs, in a car that doesn’t carry the weight of expectations of an S-Class. That said, the S-Class hasn’t entirely abandoned its role as the three-pointed star’s technology spearhead. The revised S580 4Matic debuts a new V-8 engine that will eventually see duty in a range of upcoming models. Software might be tricky. But when it comes to hardware, Mercedes-Benz knows its stuff.
Evolutionary New V-8 Makes Big Power, Less Emissions
The new V-8 engine is code-named M177 Evo. That’s a designation that will quicken the pulse of Mercedes engine nerds because it implies it’s an evolution of the thundering 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 that powers cars like the Mercedes-AMG GT63, as well as a bunch of Aston Martins. And that’s exactly what it is. What’s more, it has a flat-plane crankshaft, like V-8s that have powered Ferraris and McLarens and, more recently, the Corvette Z06. Wait … has Mercedes-Benz turned the S580 4Matic into a stealth hot rod, a spiritual successor to the legendary 450SEL 6.9? Not exactly. Although Mercedes claims the 5,016-pound S580 will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, the new flat-plane-crank V-8, which develops 530 hp from 5,500 rpm to 6,100 rpm and 553 lb-ft of torque from 2,500 rpm to 4,500 rpm, reflects an intriguing approach to combustion technology that engineers say will enable eight-cylinder Mercedes-Benz engines to meet emissions standards well into the 2030s.
It’s all about the firing order. In simple terms, a flat-plane-crank V-8, which has every crank pin located 180 degrees apart, strictly alternates its firing order between the left and right cylinder banks, while a conventional cross-plane-crank V-8, which has alternate crank pins located 90 degrees apart, has cylinders that fire consecutively on either the left or right banks. That uneven left-right transition gives the cross-plane-crank V-8 the burbling exhaust note that has been a Detroit soundtrack since Henry Ford’s immortal flathead. But it also means, according to Mercedes powertrain engineer Roman Hasselkuss, that uneven volumes of exhaust gases expel into each exhaust manifold—and each of the two turbochargers—which requires a larger, more complicated after-treatment system to reduce emissions. “The even exhaust gas distribution is a big benefit for us,” Hasselkuss said of the new flat-plane design.
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