Mercedes four-door drop-top to debut in Detroit
We've been reporting on rumors of Mercedes' plan to lop the roof off an S-class and fit it with a ragtop for too long. Finally, it's been confirmed that M-B will be dropping the top of its four-door convertible at the Detroit auto show next month.
Based off the V12-powered S-class, the cabrio version will assuredly come equipped with a cloth roof, along with a pricy premium that would add an additional $10-15k to the sticker of the S600. Considering that a base S600 comes in at just over $140,000 (not including the gas guzzler tax), buyers will certainly appreciate the exclusivity that a cabrio Merc will afford them.
According to sources close to the project, production is highly likely.
[Source: Automotive News -– Sub. Req.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Steve S 9:24AM (12/11/2006)
Are there any other 4-door convertibles on the market on the cheaper side? I'd like a convertible and it would really help to have 4-doors but I'm about 100k+ short for this one.
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isrltrkfn 9:30AM (12/11/2006)
I think there will be a Chysler 300 one soon too.
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SRT-8 9:47AM (12/11/2006)
reply to no 1. get the 2007 wrangler unlimited for 24 grand
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Professor Porsche 10:02AM (12/11/2006)
Four Door Convertibles are a SILLY Idea, it compromises the car's rigidity far worse than the 2-door convertible, and
four doors are NOT NEEDED in a convertible anyway, since it is far easier to reach the rear seat than in a 2-door COUPE.
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Andrew 9:54AM (12/11/2006)
I see no reason for this thing other than pimp appeal.
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Clay 10:15AM (12/11/2006)
Mabey if it was a retractable hard top... Canvas is so outdated
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Pitcrew 10:14AM (12/11/2006)
The Cadillac DTS is also available. So are several others. www.coachbuildersltd.com & newportconvertible.com can do almost any car.
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Tool 10:43AM (12/11/2006)
As Peter DeLorenzo at AutoExtremist would say, this is the "Answer to the question that absolutely no one is asking"
A 4-door convertible? That has got to be a very small target market.
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James 12:06PM (12/11/2006)
The back seat will be useless at anything over 30 miles per hour. The further you get away from the windshield, the more you get blasted by wind at highway speeds. That's why the best convertibles are two-seaters!
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Kri 12:40PM (12/11/2006)
It's a good thing to do IMHO. The car is not exactly good looking to start with, those Ford Transit II rear wheelarches strongly speaking against it. But it has presence and will be the only real 4 door convertible on the market (that is actually produced by the manufacturer and does not keep full doors, roll over bar as the Wrangler does).
The market might be small but if the production costs are not that much higher than for a tin top t might just be worth it. As for wind, with proper aerodynamic engineering, air scarf and all that I'm sure they'll make it pleasant.
I would never think of driving / having it but it suitably expands the line-up :) As for rigidity, the new Arnage shows it can be handled (admittedly with 2 doors) if you're prepared to pump another 300kg of supporting structure in. Which with the 500 bhp plus engine kind of works well enough ;)
And the 4 doors will make it unique, something MB has long been unable to call any of its products ;)
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leo 1:26PM (12/12/2006)
yeah, but you can always design for air to flow past the rear seets as well, so if M-B did their homework right, it could work, but it does seem a bit silly, except if youhave $$$ to spare than it is something you want to go along with your 90ft boat
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Typesbad 3:06PM (12/11/2006)
At the moment I take three kids to school in the morning in my 9-3 ragtop. I usually lower the top after dropping them off for my hour commute to work. The second set of doors would come in handy. But I too, am 100K (and then some) short of the scratch needed for the subject at hand.
As to #7's comments: Thank god they didn't go for a retractable hardtop! Can you imagine what a proportional nightmare that would be? Canvas still has its place.
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SOhp101 3:08AM (12/12/2006)
In order to obtain success, all you need is "to do a common thing, uncommonly well."
MB fails miserably at that.
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Manuel Tamargo 10:03AM (12/12/2006)
Please stop talking about an S-Cabrio, this prototype wont be a S-Clas Cabriolet. Lets think a little bit that this thing is not going to happend because for Mercedes would be cheaper to create a CL-Cabriolet version and it will be stright fighter to the Continental GTC. Something that would be possible is that Maybach would build a luxurius car with a short-chasis version to fight versus RR with the 101EX prototype.
If someone of Mercedes-Benz is reading this...Pleas Stop this joke of a fifticius new version of the S-Saloon
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