Mercedes-Benz Germany has set the starting price of the all new super luxury Maybach S-Class sedan at 134,100 euros (USD166,700 before local taxes), including value-added tax, and has began taking orders for the would-be challenger to the Rolls-Royce and Bentley. The Maybach, which is longer than the standard S class, will reach showrooms in February 2015. The top-of-the-range model is the Mercedes-Maybach S 600. Its V12 biturbo engine has an output of 390 kW (530 hp). With a displacement of 5980 cc, the maximum torque of 830 Nm is available from 1900 rpm. The V8 biturbo engine in the Mercedes-Maybach S 500 generates an output of 335 kW (455 hp) from a displacement of 4663 cc. Its peak torque is 700 Nm. NEDC combined fuel consumption for the saloon is just 8.9 litres/100 km (premium petrol). CO2 emissions are 207 g/km. The Mercedes-Maybach S 500 4MATIC will also be available from June 2015.
Inside the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, the level of wind noise is impressively low and in the rear, despite the large windows, betters even the quietest car in the world – the S-Class Coupé. For passengers in the rear, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class is the world’s quietest production saloon car.
In its exterior design, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class combines stylish, effortless superiority with trend-setting exclusivity. The vehicle makes modern luxury come alive in an exceptional way. Along with the extended wheelbase, emphatic lines suggest power and dynamism. Due to the sidewall’s special design, characteristic design elements for the S-Class are retained such as the sweeping, dome-shaped roofline.
The key distinguishing feature is the new side line: by comparison with the long-wheelbase version of the S-Class, the striking rear door has been shortened by 66 mm and therefore appears to meld seamlessly into the overall composition. The door has no triangular window because this has been relocated into the C-pillar. As a result, the rear seats are situated beyond the door cutout, which creates a feeling of exceptional privacy and exclusivity. The elegant Maybach Manufaktur logo – a double M inside an arched triangle – adorns the C-pillars on both sides.
In the interior of the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, passengers are enveloped in lounge-style, modern luxury. With its clear architecture, refined materials and stylish controls, the vehicle embodies a sensuous elegance. For an exclusive look, the front centre armrests with nappa leather or exclusive nappa leather upholstery feature embossed Maybach crests. Another special feature in the dashboard is the analogue clock with an IWC design.
The high quality standards of the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class are impressively evident from the doors, which even have handstitched door trim as part of the standard equipment. This extravagance is part of the interior’s luxurious, hand-finished “Manufaktur” character. Exclusive features used in the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class are trim parts in wood/chrome and leather at shoulder height in the door panels, chrome-plated tweeter grilles and fibre-optic cables for the ambience lighting to the side on the armrest. Together they create a unique atmosphere conveying a sense of capacious style.
Mercedes parent Daimler is reviving the Maybach luxury sub-brand to regain an ultra-rich clientele as CEO Dieter Zetsche pushes for Mercedes to overtake BMW and Audi in global luxury-car sales by the end of the decade. An attempt in 2002 to restore the 1930s-era Maybach marque as a stand-alone brand was halted a decade later after the cars failed to attract buyers.
Mercedes fell behind BMW Group’s namesake brand in premium-car deliveries in 2005, and Volkswagen Group’s Audi unit has outsold Mercedes since 2011. Mercedes is using the Maybach to target buyers of BMW’s Rolls-Royce nameplate and Volkswagen’s Bentley marque.
