Luxury vehicle
Upper Class is the name for the highest passenger car segment of the Federal Motor Vehicle Office. In the vehicle segments, the European Commission calls this segment luxury or E segment, upper class called there again the upper middle class within the meaning of the Federal Motor Vehicle Office. This class contains large, comfortable, powerful and therefore very expensive vehicles. The American full-size cars correspond to the upper class in size, but not necessarily in engine and equipment. Sales of luxury cars is becoming increasingly difficult. A common means of securing sales are made tactical approvals.
In this class, usually only sedans, coupes and convertibles are offered, but no station wagon. Because many vehicles are getting bigger and also motorized also stronger over time, the description provides a vehicle class is always a snapshot dar.
Current Models
Audi A7 Sportback
Bentley Flying Spur
Bentley Continental GTC
Bentley Mulsanne
BMW 6 Series
BMW 7 Series
Holden Statesman / Caprice
Hyundai Equus
Jaguar XJ
Jaguar XK
Lexus LS Series
Mercedes -Benz CLS-Class
Mercedes -Benz S-Class
Mercedes -Benz S -Class Coupe
Mercedes -Benz SL-Class
Mercedes -Benz SLS AMG
Porsche Panamera
Rolls- Royce Ghost
Rolls- Royce Phantom
Rolls- Royce Wraith
Tesla Model S
VW Phaeton
Features 1990
Full-size cars decreed in 1990 in the base model for at least six cylinder, 3.0 liter engine and an engine power of 130 kW. An exception was the Mercedes 260 SE is a model of the W 126 series. This had an engine with 2.6 liter displacement and 118 kW. Eight - cylinder engines were ( only later, from 1992, also at BMW ) available at Audi, Lexus and Mercedes. In addition, the full-size cars from BMW and Jaguar with twelve- cylinder engines were available. Diesel engines played in 1990 in the upper class still does not matter. Only Mercedes built the S-Class with a diesel engine, but only for export to the United States.
The vehicle length of luxury vehicles began in 1990 at about 4.9 meters and ended in the long-wheelbase versions at about 5.20 meters.
Luxury saloons possessed almost exclusively on rear-wheel drive, only with the presentation of the Audi V8 in 1988 a new Engine in this vehicle class was introduced with the all-wheel drive. From the mid- 1990s, the front-wheel drive was also increasingly used.
Examples 1990
Audi V8
Bentley Mulsanne
BMW 7 Series
Jaguar / Daimler XJ40
Lexus LS 400
Maserati Quattroporte
Mercedes -Benz S-Class
Rolls- Royce Silver Spur
Toyota Century
1990 data
Historic luxury cars
Cadillac DeVille (1962 )
Gaz 13 Chaika ( 1959-1981 )
Jaguar XJ ( Mark I ) ( 1972)
Horch 670 twelve-cylinder (1932 )
Horch Sport Cabriolet (1938 )
Jaguar Mk V ( 1948)
Lincoln Continental (1961 )
Mercedes -Benz 220 S ( 1959-1965 )
Mercedes -Benz 250 SE Convertible ( 1965-1972 )
Mercedes -Benz W 100 (1964-1981)
Opel Diplomat B (1969-1977)
Tatra 603 (1957-1975)
Registrations in Germany
For figures on annual new registrations of passenger cars of the upper class segment in Germany according to statistics from the Federal Motor Vehicle Office, see the list of registrations of new passenger cars in Germany by segment and model series # superclass.