MANUFAKTURed Maybachulence

If we’re being honest, like with many cars of this size and stature, driving the Maybach S-Class hard isn’t really the thing. It’s about what it comes with, how you can personalize it, then rolling up slow to the valet to show your friends at the club you’re driving something cooler than they are. To that end, Maybach has you covered in multiple ways.

First off, you’re getting a fully loaded S-Class, and that means a car that comes with literally everything the all-new regular car has to offer. There’s the Superscreen with three distinct digital screens under glass for the driver, main center screen, and passenger, which here get Maybach-rose-gold-hued flourishes. It’s all powered by the latest version of the Mercedes MB.OS operating system, which has AI-enabled capability through its Virtual Assistant.

It also has every advanced driver assist and safety system the S-Class gets through its MB.Drive suite, including Drive Assist Pro, the automaker’s developing self-driving setup that will reportedly add what it’s calling City Pro, which is being developed to provide point‑to‑point navigation via over-the-air updates. Don’t forget tech like Parking Assist 360, for when you let your chauffeur have the night off.

That tech stuff is neat and all, but all the S-Classes can get that. What really sets the Maybach apart are the things that make it a Maybach, like the special grille that’s 20 percent larger than before, with the trademark Maybach vertical slats and several exclusive lighting elements such as the Maybach wordmark and grille surround, and Maybach logo slats at each end of the grille.

You can opt for the special, optional 21-inch wheels with a floating three-pointed star as well as Maybach-only, two-tone paint schemes in exclusive Manufaktur colors (150 to date) like Black Sparkling, which gets a specially applied glass-flake clearcoat. You want your own paint color or colors? Or a door sill plate that says, “I’M RICHER THAN YOU”? Maybach can make it happen through Mercedes’ evolving Manufaktur Made to Measure program.

But it’s in the back seats where the Maybach magic really comes together, with standard fare augmented by a wealth of available options. Each passenger gets a 13.1-inch tablet screen loaded up with numerous entertainment apps, a fold-out table, their own smartphone-style device to control various functions, wireless headphones, those decadent Robbe & Berking Champagne flutes, the Executive package with the passenger seat that leans waaaaay back, the 31-speaker Burmester 4D sound system, and 400 interior colors, including Manufaktur Carmine Red, Lake Green, Corn Yellow, or Tobacco Brown over black, to name just a handful.

We could and did get used to all that fabulous Maybach richness, but alas, we only play rich people. For those who actually have eight or nine zeroes at the end of their net worth, the Maybach S-Class is an overall package that rivals virtually any other high-end ultra luxury sedan on the road today, Rolls-Royce included, and it’s a relative bargain compared to the British ballers. We’re sure the new Maybachs will be pulling up to all the most fabulous spots in the most fabulous places soon enough, sadly without us in the back.

2027 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class
BASE PRICE	$210,000 (S580); $250,000 (S680) (est)
LAYOUT	Front-engine, AWD, 4- or 5-pass, 4-door sedan
ENGINE	4.0L/530-hp/553-lb-ft twin-turbo direct-injected DOHC 32-valve V-8 plus 23-hp/151-lb-ft permanent-magnet motor, 530 hp/553 lb-ft comb; 6.0L/621-hp/664-lb-ft twin-turbo DOHC 48-valve port-injected V-12
TRANSMISSION	9-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT	5,350 lb (S580); 5,300 lb (S680) (mfr)
WHEELBASE	133.7 in
L x W x H	215.9 x 75.6 x 59.4 in
0–60 MPH	3.9 sec (S580); 4.3 sec (S680) (mfr est)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	Not yet rated
EPA RANGE, COMB	Not yet rated
ON SALE	Summer (S580), Winter (S680) 2026