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2021 Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 First Drive | Fat cat money

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Do you like the Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class, but just donÂ’t think itÂ’s fancy or expensive enough as it is? Maybe the AMG version is too audaciously sporty or you'd prefer a completely different flavor of garish. Maybe you donÂ’t want to be seen driving the GLS at all. If youÂ’re looking for the perfect GLS to be driven in, but need to make sure you look more like the type of fat cat to blow money on lavish, boozy dinners and decorative fountains than the pro baller who splurges on a home gym and tennis courts, Mercedes finally has the giant SUV just for you: the Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600. Is this tongue-in-cheek straw man in any way indicative of an actual Maybach owner? Who knows. We can barely comprehend how rich someone might be who can afford this $161,525 ultra-luxury SUV (before any options) let alone actually know someone of such largesse. Nevertheless, the GLS upon which it's based is certainly no stranger to us. We first drove the GLS 470 in Austria's Tyrolean Alps, sampled the AMG GLS 63 in the Columbia River Gorge, and nominated its bouncy E-Active Body Control suspension for AutoblogÂ’s 2020 Technology of the Year Award. Most of the same ingredients are present in the Maybach 600, but just one look at this two-tone luxury liner requires you to rethink the scope of what the GLS can do. While the overall body style looks more or less the same, there was no mistaking our tester for an ordinary GLS, or even an extraordinary AMG model. The two-tone paint — Lunar Blue Metallic below, and Iridium Silver Metallic from the beltline up — shouts to passersby (in an aristocratic German accent, presumably) that thereÂ’s something different going on here. The optional wheels, which get their own Maybach design, measure an absolutely massive 23 inches. Perched on the nose is the nearly extinct Mercedes hood ornament. The final giveaway comes when you move in a little closer and see the Maybach badging on the grille, tailgate and D-pillars. But seriously, that paint job is something else. The exterior doesnÂ’t quite do justice to what awaits within. The driverÂ’s door opens to a rich, inviting and clearly technologically advanced cockpit. The dual screen dash housing the instrument panel and infotainment touchscreen is becoming familiar from GLS down to GLA, as are the multitude of controls on the wheel and center console with which one can easily interact with them.

Daimler bringing resurrected Maybach name to 2014 LA and Guangzhou auto shows

According to a report in Reuters, we will get to know the new face of Maybach at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show and Guangzhou Motor Show. The revival of the name has been in the news for a while now, but what hasn't been clear is where it will fit in with other models like the coming Pullman. The Reuters piece says it will be "used to adorn an exclusive version of its S-Class limousine," but the real punch is reading that it is expected to "cost more than double the 165,000-euro ($228,000) asking price of its current flagship, the Mercedes-Benz S600."
The base price of a 2012 Maybach 57, the year the brand died, was $376,300. If Reuters is correct, and depending on how much "more" is added to "double," the price of Maybach just as a trim level and not as a standalone brand could still carry a gaudy premium for what the article calls "soft-touch leather and bespoke materials." True, that listed euro price will be higher than our own S600 - which we don't know the price of yet. But our 2103 S600 cost $160,300, which - again, assuming the double-down price is correct - would have a Maybach buyer staring at a $321,000 bill, or more, before he puts his Conway Stewart pen to work on options.
On the other hand, that still leaves room for a Maybach-branded S-Class to tout its cost difference relative to the Rolls-Royce Phantom, which currently starts at $402,940; if you have a third hand, though, the Bentley Mulsanne is "only" $303,700. We look forward to the LA show to find out exactly how Daimler is going to spice and slice this one up. As for that Pullman, Reuters says it will be a state limousine that has an additional, rear-facing bench in the chauffeured quarters. A camouflaged version of the reported limo - all 21 feet of it - was spotted recently in Germany.

Postmortem: Maybach meets its maker

Why Daimler's Ultra-Luxe Brand Couldn't Compete With Bentley And Rolls
Daimler took hubris to a new level believing that it could simply invent a new brand.
What was intended to make a big splash in the premium luxury car market has ended with a dull thud. Almost exactly a decade after it lifted the first of the big cars into New York by helicopter, Daimler AG has pulled the plug on its Maybach marque. And the odds are that few, if any, of the affluent motorists it was targeting will even notice the brand's departure.