 the mercedes-benz s-class is a series of full-size luxury sedans produced by german automaker mercedes-benz, a division of german company daimler ag. the classification was officially introduced in 1972 with the w116 s-class, which succeeded previous mercedes-benz models dating to the mid-1950s. the s-class has served as the flagship model for mercedes for over fifty years in its various incarnations. the s-class has debuted many of the company's latest innovations, including drivetrain technologies, interior features, and safety systems (such as the first seatbelt pretensioners). the s-class has ranked as the world's best-selling luxury sedan, and its latest generation, the w222 s-class, premiered in 2013. as in previous iterations, the w221 s-class is sold in standard- and long-wheelbase versions; i4, v6, v8, v12, diesel and hybrid powertrains are offered. all models built in mexico or sold in the united states are only available in long wheelbase. "s-class" is the anglicized version of "s-klasse," a german abbreviation of "sonderklasse," which means "special class" (in the sense of "a class of its own"). in automotive terms it refers to "a specially outfitted car." although used colloquially for decades, following its official application in 1972, six generations of officially named s-class sedans have been produced. previous two-door coupe models of the s-class were known as sec and later s-coupe. in 1998 the s-class coupe was spun off in a separate line as the cl-class, however as of june 2014, it has been re-designated as the s-class coupe for the 2015 model year, doing away with the cl-class. the new 2015 s-class coupe is arguably one of the top ten prettiest and the most technologically advanced mercedes-benz to date. __toc__  ==model nomenclature== {| class="wikitable floatrigh
Flagship_vehicles Full-size_vehicles Hybrid_electric_cars Limousines Mercedes-Benz_vehicles Sedans Vehicles_introduced_in_1954