2016 Mercedes-Maybach S600: First Look

Remember Maybach? The ultra-luxury brand from 1920s Germany got a reboot by then-DaimlerChrysler in the 2000s, giving moneyed shoppers the Type 57 and Type 62 sedans and eventually the preposterously expensive Type 62 Landaulet. Sales topped out at just 244 cars in 2004, miniscule even for an ultra-luxury brand. The recession put the final nail in Maybach’s gold-plated coffin, and the brand had its swan-song year in 2012.

Well, the swan — or song — is back. Mercedes plans to bestow the Maybach designation on a modified V-12 S-Class sedan, complete with extra trunk badging to signal the difference. Mercedes released several images of the car. It debuts this month during auto shows in Guangzhou, China, and Los Angeles, which signals Mercedes’ intent to launch Maybach as a global brand. But the once-stratospheric pricing will come down to earth, if only a bit.

“It’s actually going to be more normal than everybody thinks,” Mercedes spokesman Chris Bokich told us. The “guidance that we’re giving is approximately $200,000, so it’s not going to be the most expensive S-Class.”

Indeed, the thundering S65 AMG sedan starts around $225,000; the S65 AMG coupe begins in the $230,000s. So the Mercedes-Maybach S600 — which, if the pricing pans out, will start some $32,000 above an S600 — won’t be the priciest S-Class you can buy. But when it goes on sale in spring 2015 at select Mercedes dealerships, the Mercedes-Maybach S600 will be the largest S-Class available.

Exterior
The Mercedes-Maybach S600 looks like an S-Class, but it’s about 8 inches longer — and that’s versus an S-Class that’s already sold here in an extended-length version. Curiously, Maybach’s rebirth keeps it under Mercedes’ tutelage, complete with the three-pointed star along the hood, steering wheel and tail. “Maybach” appears on the trunk lid in all caps, while the sub-brand’s double-M logo goes on the C-pillar. Still, that’s a far cry from the 2000s-era Type 57 and 62, which had Mercedes roots but were unique vehicles.

That doesn’t mean Maybach will stick to just the S-Class. “It could, in the future, produce its own vehicle,” Bokich said, noting that the new AMG-GT sports car — from AMG, another Mercedes sub-brand — isn’t based on any existing Benz.

Interior
The extra length goes to cabin space, and the Maybach designation means new cabin materials over those of the already-posh S-Class. Mercedes promises more space, unique seats and exclusive materials not seen in its standard-issue flagship.

Like other S-Class sedans, the Mercedes-Maybach S600 will have many options, Bokich promised. Mercedes’ single interior image of the car showed upholstery-stitched window pillars, power rear seats with extending ottomans and quilted leather along the seats, center armrest and footwells.

Under the Hood
The Mercedes-Maybach S600 carries the same running gear as its S-Class sibling: a twin-turbo 6.0-liter V-12 with 523 horsepower and 612 pounds-feet of torque. It drives the rear wheels through a seven-speed automatic transmission. The expected weight penalty will all but certainly take a toll on acceleration and gas mileage, but the S600 is one sprightly sedan — 4.5 seconds from zero to 60 mph, Mercedes says — so even the Maybach edition should be more than quick enough.