In the autumn of 1999, the Valtra S-series was announced, which was designed to support Valtra's marketing in the major agricultural countries of Europe. It only went into serial production in the autumn of 2001. The engine was Valtra's electronically controlled 8.4-liter. The transmission (T7336), rear axle, and front axle were purchased from ZF. The same components were used, for example, by Deutz-Fahr in their largest models. Valtra's own innovations included a turbine clutch, HiTech, which is an electronic powertrain control, and a CAN-bus integrated information system that was said to contain 400,000 lines of code. There were four powershift gears. The powertrain was also available in a 50 km/h version. The tractor's functions were controlled from a Linux-based display screen. Especially the control of the hydraulic electronic valves was versatile. The hydraulics featured an adjustable displacement pump with a flow rate of 147 l/min. There were up to seven valve blocks.

The S-series introduced Valtra's new soft and rounded design line. The cabin noise level was 78 dB, which is relatively high in this class. The cabin had no opening windows at all and only one door. The cabin suspension was pneumatic. The S-series was designed to be driven in both directions, since in the optional TwinTrac system, the most important controls, except for the gear lever, rotated together with the seat. Production of the S-series was on a small scale and the price was uncompetitive. Alongside the S260, the S230 was introduced, which remained more of a brochure embellishment than a real competitor to the 260.

In the autumn of 2003, the model designations were updated to S240 and S280 when power outputs began to be stated according to the ISO standard. At the same time, an optional quick-adjust rear axle track width was introduced to accommodate row cropping.

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