| The world-premire of the SEC-coups of the construction-series 140 took place in Detroit in 1992, the premire in Europe was two months later on the Automobile Salon in Geneva. For the time being two variations were offered: the 500 SEC and the 600 SEC which were similar in its motorization to the corresponding limousines of the construction-series 140. Ex works both were equipped with numerous extras and represented the top models of the passenger car programme. In technical terms the SEC-coups were based on the S-class limousines presented in 1991; in terms of styling they were, however, clearly more autonomous than their predecessor models of the construction-series 126.
Analogous to the other passenger car types new type designations were also introduced with the coups of the S-class in June 1993; the 600 SEC, for instance, thus became the S 600 coup. The type label on the deck lid now only documented the displacement and the class to which the car belonged but not the form of the bodywork visible anyway. In March1994, that means two years after its premire in Europe, on the Automobile Salon in Geneva, the coup family was given support by the S 420 coup which since then has been seen as the lower-priced model for beginners and is equipped with a 4.2-litre four-valve V8 like its four-door counterpart in the line of the limousines.
Two fundamental technical novelties were available for the first time in the S 600 coup: In May 1995 a completely new developed 5-speed automatic gearbox with slip-controlled torque converter lockup clutch and electronic control was introduced that made for a reduction in the fuel-consumption because of its ingenious electronic control. Regarding weight and measurements, too, these novelties were successful; the ,Neue Automatikgetriebe" (,New automatic gearbox") is considerably lighter and more compact than comparable gearboxes with five speeds and, moreover, it can be produced more economically as the number of individual parts could be reduced by nealy 40 %. With regard to weight and dimensions people also were successful; the "Neue Automatikgetriebe" (,New automatic gearbox") is clearly lighter and more compact than comparable gearboxes with five driving positions and, moreover, can be produced more economically as the number of single parts could be reduced by nearly 40 per cent. Another innovation of basic importance was introduced at the same time and, since then, belongs to the standard delivery programme of the S 600 coup: the ,Elektronische Fahrstabilitts-Programm ESP" (,electronic driving stability programme") supporting the driver in driving mistakes by counteracting the unstable moment through specific braking thus contributing to driving safety. Since September 1995 the electronically controlled automatic gearbox is also used with the eight-cylinder engines; since the same time the ESP is available for both models on request.
In June 1996 the type designations for the coups were changed once again. The change of the name was not an end in itself but should show that the large coups had taken over the role of the pacemakers for a whole family of coups. The CL-coups were also slightly modified in terms of style: Externally visible were the revised bumpers with the integrated sensors for the ultrasonic parking aid ,Parktronic" being part of the standard delivery programme. Through this parking aid the backup markers were no longer needed in the rear wings. Other remarkable novelties were: Xenon-headlights with dynamic headlight-range adjustment, a tempomat with speed-limiter, standard sidebags as well as a seat identification system for the front passenger seat.
|