Simply Abu Dhabi Magazine XXIII

2 6 0 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Mercedes-Benz S 63 AMG 4-MaticCabriolet By Damien Reid S ince I was a kid, I’ve had the soundtrack in my head of a low-burbling, 3.5-litre V8 engine that belonged to a neighbour’s royal blue, 1971, 280SE 3.5 Mercedes-Benz which drove up my street every morning. Still cold and running rich, it puffed the finest vapour of blue from its twin pipes and, in fact, I can still smell its over-rich, full-leaded petrol as I write this. To this day, that same driver still goes about his daily routine and whenever I’m home, I’m transformed back to my childhood and the sound of that bass and ball bearing exhaust idling up my street. It was the car that sold me on that W111 series; later, in my teens, I saw its convertible equivalent, even then a classic, parked in downtown Sydney. It was a 280SE 3.5 convertible in bottle green with tan leather. It looked like the sort of car Doris Day or Princess Grace of Monaco would cruise the Riviera in and it’s not even worth thinking how much it would sell for at auction today. But it’s always been a special car back then and even more so now. I should have guessed that the first S-Class convertible to be launched by Mercedes-Benz since that model was going to be a lavish affair – and boy, was I not disappointed. Given that Mercedes has not built a drop-top version of its flagship since 1971, I’m guessing that this 2016 equivalent, the S 63 AMG convertible I had for one stunningly fine day on the Cote d’Azur, is going to be the Doris Day car for future generations. There was a time until about the 1970s when you could have a luxury car that was also a convertible. Some were even four-door convertibles and indeed, the initial concept of this S-Class cabriolet was a four-door convertible called the Ocean Drive that was shown at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show. So while the production version has reverted back to the more sensible two-door option, this car is still about carrying four full- sized adults in luxury, in fair weather, with the roof down. Bentley and Rolls-Royce look out, you have some competition. The setting and the build up to the reveal was perfect. From our arrival at Nice Airport, we were shuttled to the helipad where a 10- seater Airbus helicopter, fully trimmed by AMG as part of their