2015 Mercedes-Benz S550 Coupe combines exquisite styling with high-tech comfort (pictures)

In cleaning up its lineup, Mercedes-Benz dropped the old CL-class, which was essentially a coupe version of the S-class, and replaced it with the all-new S-class Coupe.

Mercedes-Benz offers the new S-class Coupe as an S550 in the US, an S500 in the UK and Australia, and as two different AMG versions, the S63 AMG and the S65 AMG.

Rather than just remove two doors from the S-class sedan, Mercedes-Benz redesigned the car extensively, decreasing wheelbase and overall length.

This example is the S550 Coupe, an extraordinarily comfortable and confident car.

Under the hood sits a 4.7-liter V-8 engine with two turbochargers, one on each bank of cylinders.

The grille on the S550 Coupe looks less imposing than that on the sedan, with a more sporty profile.

LED headlights feature automatic high-beams.

The design of the S550 Coupe is gorgeous, with smooth-flowing lines from front to back.

The side graphic shows off a pillarless opening.

Meaty Goodyear Eagle F1 tires give this car exceptional grip and comfort.

Air suspension makes for excellent ride comfort and handling.

At only 10.36 cubic feet, the trunk space isn't huge, but you won't be taking rear seat passengers on extended road trips.

Standard all-wheel-drive adds to the S550 Coupe's handling capabilities.

Available massage seats add to the comfort.

Rear seat space is limited.

The interior design looks as good as the exterior.

A Mercedes-Benz standard, seat controls are on the doors.

Cabin electronics come standard in this pricey model, but there are a few options for driver assistance and premium audio.

The lane-keeping assistant feature steers the wheel to prevent the car from drifting out of its lane.

This LCD instrument cluster also shows a night-vision display.

The cabin tech interface controller consists of a jog dial and shortcut buttons.

The surround view cameras make maneuvering the car in tight spaces easy.

Richly detailed maps fill the infotainment screen.

The onscreen interface includes an upper ribbon with menu items for navigation, audio and telephone.

A lower menu ribbon includes feature-specific functions, such as these destination options for navigation.

The premium Burmester audio option includes a speaker between the two rear seats.

Radio sources include HD AM and FM, as well as satellite.

For onboard audio sources, this cover flow interface makes it easy to select an album.

The interface includes multiple means of selecting music.

The play screen shows album artwork when available.

The settings screens let you customize many features of the car.

The massage seat controls let you select from six different types of massage.

The hands-free phone system offers manual number input or integration with your phone's own contact list.

Mercedes-Benz includes a whole menu of connected data features, including apps and a Web browser.

Unfortunately, the car takes too long to establish an Internet connection each time you want to access a data feature.

Mercedes-Benz builds in a few third-party apps.