When Mercedes introduced their ‘Sonderklasse‘, or S-Class as we know it, they intended to produce the very best luxury saloon they could. The “special class” would be the flagship for Mercedes that would see six generations, each one debuting the latest technologies and luxury goodies that the German automaker had to offer.
The fifth-generation S-Class, codenamed W221, was unveiled at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in 2005, with global sales commencing in early 2006. Standing out from available trims, the crème de la crème of the S-Class was the S600. But what does a slightly older luxury sedan that — when new — had a price tag hanging around supercar territory feel like to own today? Bill from Curious Cars has managed to get his hands on a 2008 S600 with an initial price of $150k and walks us through what it would be like to be the proud owner of this 13-year-old German limo.
Read: Here Are 5 Reasons To Buy A W221 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Although the host thinks that the W221 isn’t the best S-Class that Mercedes has ever produced, he admits that this generation is fairly reliable, which is of course relative at this end of the luxury used car spectrum.
Perhaps one of the most significant aspects that made the fifth generation S600 special was that it was incredibly quick, especially considering that it weighed a little over two tons. The turn of speed was thanks to a 5.5-liter twin-turbo V12 producing 510 hp and 612 lb-ft of torque that allowed this massive saloon to reach 60 mph (96 km/h) from a standstill in around 4.2 seconds, making it faster than a Porsche 911 and a Ferrari 612 from that time.
Visually, the W221 was bigger and more aggressive than the previous model in every way and came with a bit more punch in terms of power as well. This S600 that Bill walks us around has some Lorinser touches, giving the car some subtle chrome treatment around the body, a nice complement to the chrome front grille, and 19-inch optional wheels.
See: This 31k-Mile 1991 Mercedes-Benz 420 SEL Will Put Some S-Class in Your Life
Inside, the S600 is equipped with rear power seats that are heated, cooled, and have the ability to give you a massage on the go. Couple that with your own set of air conditioning vents, rear sunroof, and electric sun blinds, and what more could you possibly ask for, right?
If you opt for the driver’s seat, you get a good view of the high-quality varnish and tan leather spreading across the cabin. There’s a nice feeling of the modern and traditional as you get a leather and wood finished steering wheel that hides a digital gauge screen behind it. In fact, although the technology was still a little complicated for its time, Bill swears by the fact that they did it a little better than BMW.
With its supercar performance and Rolls-Royce-like Luxury, the S600 certainly didn’t come cheap. As mentioned before, you could expect to pay close to around $150,000 when it was introduced. Still, it was a bargain in its segment, as the W221 was meant to compete with luxury sedans that were almost double the price. Sure, it might now cost a fraction of what it did back in 2006, but the advice to potential buyers is to remember that its initial sticker price means it’s going to need a decent sum of backup cash to look after it the way it should.
