FIRST CLASS

Ever wondered where the S-Class came from? Wonder no more

- Kartik Ware

It’s 1959 and you’re a captain of industry or a head of state, pick the silver spoon you’d like. Obviously, you have the best Mercedes-Benz limousine of the time, the W189 300, because of course. After a hard day of imposing your will and whims on subordinates, you’re heading back to the palace you call home, sunk in the full-size sofa that is the rear seat, absent-mindedly insulting the chauffeur for having too big a head and obstructing your otherwise pleasant view of the wood-and chrome dashboard. And then a portal opens, swallows you whole, and deposits you in 2021 in the rear seat of the new S-Class I’m driving at 200 kph. Welcome to the future.

If you were such a person, I imagine the first thing you’d think of was how much your investments have grown. And you’d need them, too, since the car you’re now travelling in requires Rs 2.17 crore to acquire, and that’s only the starting price. Surely, your ego won’t let you sign the cheque without ticking every box on the options list, adding a few bespoke boxes of your own for good measure. Before long, though, just as you’re wondering what those magical glass panels are, the ones which somehow respond to your touch, we reach a big wooden gate and are ushered into the driveway of Abbas Jasdanwalla, and you see a familiar sight. It’s the Adenauer again, just like the one you were transported from. And as you wait for me to open your door, I walk to the elegant old Merc, already gazing back in time.