By: Dave Abrahams
Los Angeles, California - The Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, says the maker, is aimed at customers for whom status is important.
Which helps explain why it was launched almost simultaneously in its two key markets - the United States and China - with its world premier at Auto Guangzhou and its presentation at the Los Angeles motor show just hours later.
These are also markets in which size matters; at 5453mm long on a 3365mm wheelbase, the new Maybach is 200mm longer than even the long-wheelbase S-Class from which it was developed - and all of that extra space is in the rear passenger section, with two individual executive seats as standard equipment.
But perhaps the most telling indication of just where this plutocratic conveyance is aimed, is Mercedes-Benz's boast that it is the world's quietest production sedan car.
Size is a factor under the bonnet as well: the Mercedes-Maybach is available in just two engine variants - the S500, with a 4663cc biturbo V8, rated at 335kW and 700Nm, and the S600, with a 5980cc biturbo V12 for which Stuttgart quotes 390kW and 830Nm, the latter available from just off idle at 1900rpm.
The S500 features an all-new 9G-Tronic automatic transmission, while the S600 has an updated 7G-Tronic Plus 'box; 4Matic permanent all-wheel drive is standard on both variants.
UNMISTAKEABLE
The car's key distinguishing feature is the styling of the side panel (the largest on any current production car, according to the maker) and the rear door.
If the designers had simply made it 200mm longer than that of the S-Class it would have been wildly out of proportion and rather impractical. So they straightened out the curve of the rear edge (which made it 66mm shorter) and moved the rear quarter window into the C pillar, which also places the rear seats beyond the door opening for a feeling of privacy and exclusivity.
In addition to all the luxury features of the conventional S-Class, the Maybach has exclusive trim elements in chrome, wood veneer and leather at shoulder height, chrome-plated tweeter grilles and optic-fibre ambient lighting.
Discreet voice amplification makes it possible to instruct the chauffeur to take you “Home, James” without having to raise your tone, while gentle background music is dispensed by a 1540-watt, 24-channel, 24 speaker Burmester premium 3D surround sound system with adjustable chrome-plated tweeter grilles in the rear doors that direct the top notes as accurately as the cooling scent of Agar wood (exclusively formulated for the Maybach) from the separate dual-zone rear climate control system.
PERFECT FOR SNOOZING
Unlike most reclining seats, the backrests of the rear seats are adjusted separately while the seat reference point remains unchanged, from 19 degrees (just right for comfortably working on a laptop) to 43.5 degrees (perfect for snoozing - the head restraints come with a spare pillow as standard).
However, if the Maybach crashes while you're reclining in Business Class, there's a danger you might slide out from under the seat-belt (it's called submarining) so there's an extra airbag under the front of the cushion that inflates in case of a frontal impact to keep the occupant's hips in place - but it doesn't work if the seat back is upright.
As soon as you sit in one of the rear seats, the illuminated seat-belt buckle extends 50mm towards you to make it easier to reach, and once you've clicked in, it retracts again to keep the seatbelt comfortably and safely firm around your hips. And if the car's sensors detect an imminent collision and trigger the Pre-Safe system, it will instantly retract a further 40mm to help pre-tension the seat-belt.
WANT EVEN MORE LUXURY?
The optional Rear Seat Comfort package includes individually adjustable multi-contour seats and a massage function based on the hot-stone principle, while the First-Class Rear Suite package places a console between the seats that has heated/cooled cup holders and folding tables, with light-alloy frames and leather inserts, each on two articulated joints so they can be adjusted to almost any position.
The Mercedes-Maybach S500 and S600 will go on sale in February 2015; nothing so crass as price is mentioned, on the assumption that the customers Mercedes-Benz is hoping to attract are those for whom cost is not a consideration.