New Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic Concept Previews Next-Gen S-Class Coupe

Mercedes-Benz has unwrapped a brand new concept metal in the form of the Vision Iconic Concept at its design house in Shanghai, China.

After briefly teasing it prior, Mercedes-Benz finally took the wraps off its latest concept metal online. Christened as the Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic Concept, this likely stands as a preview of the three-point star marque’s next-generation S-Class Coupe.

The concept was revealed at the marque’s design house in Shanghai, China earlier today. What’s notable here the concept’s overall flamboyance, and the way it merges both classic lines with various modern and futuristic touches inside and out.

The overall design of the Vision Iconic Concept is very flamboyant, masking the sleek coupe's true purpose at being a high-tech self-driving luxury coupe.

However, at the heart of the Vision Iconic Concept are a slew of sophisticated new technologies. Key amongst the latter include hands-off, eyes-off autonomous driving system plus steer-by-wire.

Back to design, this concept boasts a unique five-slat iteration of the marque’s new ‘Iconic Grille’ first shown in the next-gen GLC EV. Larger and more upright than what’s brimmed in the current S-Class, it’s also a ‘reinterpretation’ of the classic grille seen in the Mercedes 35 PS from 1900.

Notable here is the concept's unique five-slat rendition of the brand's new 'Iconic Grille'.

This concept’s adoption of which perhaps indicates that the next-gen S-Class flagship limousine could be the brand’s first to feature an illuminated three-point star – a key element in this concept’s front-end. Moreover, this is also the strongest sign yet of the S-Class Coupe model’s return.

For over 60 years, the S-Class Coupe has stood as a mainstay in the brand’s line-up. This changed in 2021 when the model was axed as part of a streamlining effort executed by Mercedes-Benz at the time – total model count was almost halved then.

The concept's interior also shows loads of inspiration from Mercedes-Benz's past.

Moving to tech and the Vision Iconic Concept gains a slew of which current under development. Level Four – hands-off, eyes-off – autonomous driving abilities leads the bill. This is the ‘next step’ from the Level Three tech that’s brimmed in the current S-Class.

Mercedes-Benz touts that this new Level Four self-driving tech harnesses a new ‘neuromorphic’ computer system that supposedly mimics the human brain’s neural networks, and it makes driving calculations up to 10 times quicker and promises 90% more energy efficiency too.

Critically, the Vision Iconic Concept previews a slew of sophisticated new tech that includes Level Four - hands- and eyes- off - self-driving tech powered by a 'neuromorphic' computer system, as well as a steer-by-wire suite.

Next comes a new steer-by-wire suite which, when combined with a revised version of the current S-Class model’s rear-wheel-steering, will further boost its low-speed maneuverability and overall agility too.

Like the next-gen C-Class, the upcoming eighth-gen S-Class will launch exclusively as an electric vehicle (EV) riding off the MB.EA platform. Alongside it comes a heavily face-lifted version of the current-gen S-Class mentioned, which will serve as the combustion (ICE) alternative.