The Mercedes S-Class is renowned for its comfort and luxury, but it’s also a pioneer in terms of safety.

The latter will hold true for the next-generation S-Class as the company has confirmed the model will feature the “world’s first airbag for rear-seat passengers.”

Full details will be released next week, but Mercedes said the rear-seat airbags are designed to protect passengers in the event of a frontal impact. The airbags appear to be mounted in the back of the front seat and deploy when a collision is detected. They apparently have a U-shaped design and this presumably allows them to act as a catcher’s mitt, while also enabling them to cradle a passenger’s head.

Mercedes didn’t say much about the airbags, but noted they have an “entirely different concept to that of front airbags.” In particular, the company said the airbags will be able to adapt to children seats and will work in conjunction with their inflatable seat belts to set new benchmarks in safety for rear-seat passengers.

Besides the new airbags, Mercedes has upgraded the Pre-Safe Impulse Side function. It uses radar sensors to detect an imminent side impact and then inflates the seat air cushions to move the driver and front-seat passenger towards the center of the vehicle. It also tells the E-Active Body Control suspension to raise the vehicle, so the impact of the crash is diverted through the stiffer lower structure of the S-Class.

Mercedes plans to continue trickling out information about the S-Class, ahead of its debut on September 2nd. However, we’ve already seen the model undisguised and been given a look at its high-tech interior.