And now the prestigious MB S-Class is to get a cloth roof. This will be a full fourseater luxury car with four doors. But MB are not taking any chances with our weather. Engineers have built an Airscaft system which means a neck-level heating system to ensure occupants can keep the roof down even on the coldest days.

There are no centre pillars, giving a nice line to the car and this is helped by the fact the flat cloth roof folds unseen behind the rear seats.

The new design is codenamed Ocean Concept and and comes with a 5.5-litre V12 engine which will keep performance figures up even though the car has gained some extra weight as a result of strengthening the chassis.

And further news from MB - a new C-Class will be on the way by the middle of the year after some of the toughest road tests in Germany, Africa and the Middle East.