Benz Attacks Superluxury Rivals With V8 And V12 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Limousine

In a world where too much is not enough, Daimler has parachuted in the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class to sit as the pinnacle of its limousine range.

Launched on the eve of the Guangzhou auto show, the new Mercedes-Maybach S-Class is seven inches (180mm) longer than even the long-wheelbase S-Class, more pronounced in its huge vertically slatted grille and much, much more luxurious.

How luxurious? Try massage seating that doesn’t ignore the calves, or active road-noise cancellation or even a button that opens the rear doors so passengers can limit their own exertions.

Powered by either a 603 horsepower twin-turbo V8 in the S580 or a 680hp twin-turbo V12 for the S680 version, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class will arrive on the battlefield of the luxury wars midway through 2021, just in time to tackle the Bentley Flying Spur and the entire Rolls-Royce range.

There will be a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version for China, too, with 100km of EV range thanks to the 503hp powertrain of the Mercedes-Benz S 580e, with its combination of an electric and a six-cylinder turbo motors.

The Maybach takes the stunningly strong tech features of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and adds in greater rear space and far more high-end features to be used from the rear seats.

Even as European and American buyers tone down their in-your-face opulence, ultra-luxury flagship limousines are in huge demand in China, Russia and Korea.

This demand coaxed Daimler to launch the Mercedes-Maybach GLS last year and the 215-inch (5496mm) S-Class becomes the second model to receive the Maybach treatment.

All of the added legroom is given to the rear-seat passengers and the rear-seat bench has also been swapped for a pair of executive chairs with base and backrest adjustment. A footrest is attached to the back of the front seat, too, delivering what Mercedes-Benz calls a “comfortable reclining surface for a pleasant sleeping position”.

While the cost of the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class has yet to be revealed, it can be assumed it will be substantially more than the asking price for the Mercedes-Benz version of the same car, which starts at just under $100,000.

The Maybach will share the S-Class’s all-new human-machine interface (HMI), including its enormous vertical touchscreen in the centre of the dash, plus its head-up display (HUD).

Where the Maybach takes it further is extending the S-Class’s gesture control system with a 3D laser camera in the roof lining so that rear-seat passengers can control the system as well.

The Maybach uses standard air suspension, optional rear-wheel steering and Benz’s road-scanning E-Active body control technology, which is a development of what it used to call “Magic Carpet Ride” when it was first conceived more than a decade ago.

Daimler turned to the Maybach brand it bought in 1960 after it was snookered by the super-luxury car wars between BMW and Volkswagen at the turn of the century.

Volkswagen grabbed Bentley (as a consolation prize after screwing up its £430 million purchase of BMW) in 1998, then BMW took over Rolls-Royce cars in 2003, leaving Mercedes-Benz, the once-dominant luxury player, out in the cold.

It countered by offering its Maybach models as a stand-alone brand in 2002 but the brand name had little cut-through in Germany and even less internationally, so it was shelved in 2013.

It was brought back as a sub-brand of Mercedes-Benz in 2018, using the Mercedes-Maybach name to highlight the extra luxury in the same way that Mercedes-AMG highlighted extra performance.