Mercedes S-Class wows with 3D cameras and night vision

The Mercedes S-Class, to be launched in 2014, is packed with blow-your-mind details: LED lights, a perfumer, radar, 3D cameras.

From The Mercedes S-Class's LED lamps to the 3D cameras, radar and night vision systems that allow the new sedan to virtually drive itself, the new S-Class is a technical tour de force that will likely have competitors racing to catch up.

There are 300 LEDs in the interior alone, 56 in each headlamp and another 25 in each taillight. Oh, and you can choose from seven different colors for the interior lighting, with five dimmer levels and four distinct lighting zones.

There’s the latest version of the Mercedes Distronic technology, using both cameras and radar to monitor the vehicle’s surroundings. It allows the new S-Class to keep pace with traffic, come to a complete stop in a tie-up and then start rolling again. It triggers the brakes if a collision seems likely and even turns on the flashers when one does occur. The latest in lane departure warning systems will even take control if a drowsy driver starts to drift into an adjacent lane.

The new Mercedes S-Class will feature some of the largest video screens ever stuffed into an instrument panel, two of them 12.3 inches each. The primary, reconfigurable display handles traditional duties, such as speed and engine RPMs, while the right panel oversees Mercedes’ latest infotainment technology. Mercedes is even developing a so-called “Heat Map” system to guide a motorist to the center of the urban action by visualizing areas with high concentrations of night clubs, restaurants and shopping centers. There will even be an automatic perfume atomizer option lifted from the Maybach brand abandoned last year.