In March 1991 the new S-Class generation (designated internally as the 140 series) made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show. The body design incorporated the typical traditional Mercedes-Benz stylistic elements, enabling it to fit in seamlessly with the visual appearance of the company's other passenger car models. The 6.0-liter V12 M 120 engine was an entirely new design. Not only was it the first twelve-cylinder Mercedes-Benz made for a production passenger car, but it was also the most powerful Mercedes-Benz car engine of its day, with a rated power output of 300 kW (408 hp). With a peak torque of 580 Newton meters, it reached the 500 Newton meters mark at 1600 rpm. The twelve-cylinder was equipped with four-valve technology, variable intake camshaft, and an electronic injection system with a hot-wire air mass sensors. The new fully electronic ignition system calculated the optimum ignition point from 300 ignition maps, tuned for each cylinder individually and to the knock limit in each case. The M 120 was the only twelve-cylinder engine in the world to feature this cylinder-selective anti-knock control. Without this, it would not have been possible to achieve a high compression ratio of 10:1, necessary for optimum use of fuel.
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photo: Jacco van de Kuilen and Fred Tigelaar, Next Classics
