All posts by Francis Mitterrand

News

Mercedes Rewrites Luxury with a Leather-Free S-Class

Car companies love to show off their halo cars the way fashion houses stage runway looks: dripping in indulgence, trimmed in every conceivable luxury, and photographed under flattering lights. The base models—the ones real people actually buy—are usually kept out of frame. But click through Mercedes-Benz’s online configurator for the new W223-generation S-Class and you’ll stumble upon something quietly radical: a flagship luxury sedan with no real leather in sight.

Yes, the S-Class—the rolling benchmark for automotive excess—can now be ordered with cloth.

In Germany, that entry point comes in the form of the S 350 d 4Matic, a short-wheelbase diesel that starts at €121,356. That’s well into six-figure territory, which makes the standard interior spec feel almost mischievous. Mercedes says this is the first time an S-Class has officially been offered without leather, and the materials list backs that up. Instead of cowhide, the seats use Artico synthetic leather on the bolsters paired with a linen and recycled-polyester fabric in the center sections. White piping outlines the cushions for a subtle contrast, while the door panels wear imitation leather with diamond stitching—just enough flair to remind you this is still the brand’s luxury flagship.

If that sounds too ascetic for your tastes, Mercedes will happily swap in an all-black leather interior at no extra charge. But the important part is the choice. In a segment where leather has long been treated as non-negotiable, Mercedes is suddenly saying: maybe it isn’t.

The rest of the base S-Class spec is similarly restrained but far from spartan. It rides on 18-inch wheels and comes standard in gray, though black paint is a free upgrade on the German market. The much-touted passenger-side display, optional on lesser Mercs, is included here, and the facelifted steering wheel has quietly improved with fewer fiddly touch controls and more honest-to-goodness physical buttons. Small win, big relief.

What’s really interesting, though, is the philosophy behind this interior. Mercedes isn’t positioning the vegan-friendly trim as a cost-cutting exercise or a begrudging concession. It’s presented as a first-class option, a legitimate alternative to leather rather than a downgrade. That matters, especially as more buyers start to question the environmental and ethical footprint of traditional hides—after all, a high-end leather interior can require the skins of more than ten cows.

So here we are: a Mercedes-Benz S-Class that costs more than a suburban house in some countries, yet proudly wears fabric seats and recycled materials. In any other context, that might sound absurd. In 2026, it feels oddly forward-thinking.

Luxury, it turns out, isn’t just about what you add. Sometimes, it’s about what you choose not to.

Source: Mercedes-Benz

News

Tenneco Joins Cadillac F1, and Detroit Is About to Go Racing Again

If Cadillac’s return to top-tier motorsport was going to be more than a badge exercise, it needed real engineering muscle behind it. Enter Tenneco. The 125-year-old American supplier—best known in enthusiast circles for everything from Monroe dampers to Walker exhausts—has signed a multi-year technical partnership with the Cadillac Formula 1 Team ahead of its 2026 debut. And unlike the marketing-heavy tie-ups that often orbit F1, this one is about parts, data, and hard-nosed performance.

The pitch is straightforward: two old-school American engineering powerhouses teaming up to go fight the sharpest knives in global motorsport. Cadillac brings the ambition and the factory-backed Formula 1 program. Tenneco brings the stuff that actually keeps race cars alive when the boost is turned up and the margins are microscopic.

That’s not empty talk. Tenneco has spent more than a century building a reputation in environments where failure is not an option—factories, commercial fleets, and, crucially, high-performance automotive applications. Its long relationship with General Motors has put Tenneco hardware deep inside some of GM’s most demanding powertrain, ride, and emissions systems. In other words, the company already knows how GM thinks, how it engineers, and how it breaks things in order to make them better.

In Formula 1, that familiarity matters. Cadillac’s F1 effort is being built around GM Performance Power Units, and Tenneco will be embedded in the technical side of that operation, supplying a portfolio of performance-critical components and engineering support. The headline items are advanced powertrain and ignition technologies—exactly the sort of systems that decide whether a modern hybrid F1 engine makes class-leading power or ends the race coughing oil into the runoff.

But the real advantage isn’t just the hardware. Tenneco engineers will be working directly with Cadillac F1’s technical staff, integrating those systems into the car and feeding performance data back into development. That’s the Formula 1 flywheel: track data informs design, design improves the parts, and the next race gets a little faster. Do that better than the competition, and you win.

For Cadillac, this partnership is a signal that its F1 program isn’t being built on vibes and branding decks. It’s being built the way serious race teams are built: with suppliers that understand heat, vibration, stress, and the ugly reality of pushing components far beyond what any road car will ever see.

For Tenneco, it’s a chance to prove that its century-plus of engineering experience still applies at the absolute bleeding edge of automotive performance. If their technology can survive 300-kilometer-per-hour straights, brutal energy recovery systems, and the relentless pace of an F1 season, it can survive just about anything.

And for American racing fans, it’s something else entirely: another reminder that Detroit isn’t just about pickup trucks and crossovers. With Cadillac and Tenneco heading to Formula 1 together in 2026, the U.S. is putting real hardware, real engineers, and real ambition back onto the world’s fastest stage. That’s not nostalgia. That’s competition.

Source: Cadillac

NEW CARS

2026 Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo: A Premium Camper Gets a Factory-Fresh Reset

By the time most campervans manage to feel less like a cargo box and more like a college dorm, the Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo has already checked into boutique-hotel territory. Leather, wood trim, mood lighting, and a three-pointed star on the steering wheel will do that. Now, less than three years after its last refresh, Mercedes has rolled out another update—and this one is less about looking pretty and more about tightening the screws behind the scenes.

The headline is not the roof, the screens, or even the sound system. It’s the factory. For the first time, the Marco Polo will be built entirely in-house, with Mercedes moving the camper conversion from long-time partner Westfalia to its own plant in Ludwigsfelde, Germany. The base V-Class still comes from Spain, but the motorhome magic now happens under Mercedes’ direct control. Translation: better quality oversight, potentially faster delivery times, and a quieter whisper in Stuttgart that says, this thing really matters to us now.

Same Suit, Better Tailoring

Visually, don’t expect your neighbors at the campsite to do a double take. The Marco Polo already adopted the refreshed V-Class face earlier, so the 2026 update keeps the same clean, upscale van look. The real upgrade is overhead.

There’s a new aluminum-shell pop-up roof, complete with adjustable LED ambient lighting and a 2.05-by-1.13-meter bed. Mercedes says the redesign improves both thermal and sound insulation, and it even adds 10 millimeters of headroom. That’s not much on paper, but in a camper van, every millimeter counts—especially when you’re trying not to bonk your head while pulling on a hoodie at 7 a.m.

The awning has also been reworked for easier install and removal, which is a polite way of saying it should now fight you a little less when you’re setting up camp in the rain.

Downstairs, the rear bench still folds into a second double bed, so four people can sleep in the Marco Polo without anyone drawing the short straw on the floor.

Digital Campfire

Up front, the familiar twin 12.3-inch screens remain, but they now run the latest version of Mercedes’ Advanced Control system. While it doesn’t have the eye-watering width of the S-Class Superscreen, it does matter more here, because this software also runs camping-specific functions—lighting, roof operation, and other van-life essentials. Mercedes promises smoother operation, which is something you’ll appreciate when you’re trying to dim the cabin lights without waking everyone else.

The living space keeps its clever, compact layout: kitchen, wardrobe, swiveling front seats, all the good stuff. New magnetic covers for the cockpit add privacy, turning the front seats into part of the living room instead of a glass-walled fishbowl.

Mercedes also tweaked the small but important things. Folding tables and sliding drawers work better, the rear bench has a redesigned control panel, and the refrigerator is more efficient—good news for anyone who likes cold drinks on hot days without constantly checking the battery gauge.

And then there’s the sound system: eight speakers plus a subwoofer, and it can stream via Bluetooth even when the main infotainment system is off. Yes, that means you can keep the vibes going at the campsite without lighting up the entire dashboard like a spaceship.

Same Drivetrain, No Surprises

Under the hood, nothing changes—and that’s not a bad thing. The Marco Polo sticks with Mercedes’ 2.0-liter turbo-diesel, offered in three outputs, topping out at 237 horsepower. A nine-speed automatic sends power to the rear wheels or all four in the 4Matic version, and there’s still an optional self-leveling suspension for those who don’t want to sleep on a slope.

It’s a familiar, proven setup, which is exactly what you want when you’re a long way from the nearest dealer and a long way from home.

A Simpler Sibling and an Electric Future

Alongside the full Marco Polo, Mercedes also introduced the Horizon, a more minimalistic version that ditches the kitchen and walk-in closet but keeps most of the updates. Think of it as the “bring-your-own-camp-stove” edition.

Both versions go on sale soon, with deliveries starting in the second half of 2026. Pricing is still under wraps, but let’s be honest: if you’re shopping for a Mercedes camper van with ambient lighting and an aluminum pop-top, you’re not hunting for bargains.

Mercedes has also confirmed that a next-generation Marco Polo is already in the works, based on its new Van Architecture platform. That means both combustion and fully electric camper vans are on the way, with VAN.CA for gas and diesel and VAN.EA for battery power. Expect to see electric and traditional versions before the end of the decade.

For now, though, the updated Marco Polo is all about refinement, quality, and confidence. It may not look new, but it feels more Mercedes than ever—and in the world of premium camper vans, that might be the most important upgrade of all.

Source: Mercedes-Benz