Mercedes-Benz resurrect the iconic Maybach name as their new flagship brand with the new S 600.
Drive an S-Class and you don’t really have to wonder why it’s called ‘the best car in the world’, because there are some fairly obvious things which support that statement right from the outset. It’s a special place to be, it commands a premium and it has the walk to match the talk. So, what happens when the company decides to aim one at the very top; have a car which will vanquish all opposition and proclaim without doubt that it is indeed the best in the world.
Mercedes have turned to the defunct Maybach brand to make that statement. The new Maybach S-Class is a front-runner in terms of production car luxury, comfort and safety technology put together, but while the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley silently smile away, dismissing their claims, they might be caught taking second glances now. The new S Maybach will be the flagship super-luxury saloon for Mercedes. It will be a more modern, more technologically superior replacement for the erstwhile Maybach 57 (and 57 S). A 200-mm longer wheelbase, a length of about 5.5 metres and the company’s advanced suspension, making it, as they say, the quietest car in the world are the highlights, as will be the powertrains which provide motive force.
The engine line-up is expected to see not one, but three choices for certain markets. The S600 Maybach is a given, with the recently updated 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged V12, making 530 PS and 830 Nm of torque, at the centre of the action. Given the downsizing age, the S500 Maybach, armed with the 4.7-litre twin-turbo V8 with 455 PS and 700 Nm of torque, will be available in several global markets as well. There are two more possibilities: the first, a China-centric (and select global markets) model with the 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 offering 333 PS and 480 Nm, which focuses on lower emissions and what we can call reasonable output figures, and second, as with the old Maybach S models, the mad 65 AMG motor – a 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged V12 with 630 PS and 1,000 Nm of torque – that will be plonked into the absolute top-of-the-line model.
The S Maybach is positioned above the long wheelbase models, but below the upcoming Pullman limousine model. We will see it in India soon after its international launch. It will cost £20,000 (Rs 20 lakh) more than the S 600 L, and should arrive here with a price tag upwards of Rs 3.5 crore.
Story: Jim Gorde
