Maybach name to be resurrected for long-wheelbase S-Class

Thu, 16 Jan 2014

Maybach was an audacious idea - a Mercedes-Benz that could truly do battle against Rolls-Royce - that ended up being a catastrophe, thanks to lackluster sales. After a 10-year stretch that was punctuated by nothing more exciting than the stillborn Exelero and Jay-Z and Kanye West attacking one with a blowtorch, we thought Mercedes was done with the resurrected brand.

Instead, rumors crept out back in October that Mercedes would once again revive Maybach for its top-of-the-line, long-wheelbase S-Class. Now, it looks like the next Maybach will arrive by the end of 2014, according to a report from AutoWeek. Situated above the current top-of-the-line S-Class, the S600, AW reports that it will do battle with the likes of the Bentley Mulsanne, Rolls-Royce Ghost and Land Rover Range Rover Autobiography Black LWB and will be priced at $250,000 to $300,000.

We reached out to Mercedes about this, and while there was no official comment, there also wasn't anything resembling a denial. That, along with the aforementioned past reports, makes it seem fairly likely that we could be seeing the Maybach badge back on the road before too long. To us, though, the return of Maybach seems like a rather poor choice. Considering the brand's limited success and Mercedes' long history of limos (Pullman or Grosser anyone?), we can't say we'd agree with this call.

By Brandon Turkus