Mercedes-Maybach S-Class unveiled: Opulent as ever

Excess. That’s the first word that pops into my head when I think of a Maybach. As a kid in my growing up in the noughties, sedans like the Skoda Octavia were considered luxury cars. Rolling up in a Audi Q7 or an Mercedes-Benz S-Class was akin to pulling up in a Gulfstream. Maybachs? You only saw them in the pictures of car magazines or Hollywood flicks. But when you did feast your eyes on one of these land yachts, they reeked of power. Opulence. Excess. It was a ride worthy for the stars of Succession before Succession existed. Think Lucious Lyon from Empire. Or, erm, DJ Khaled, for the benefit of younger readers.

Pop culture trivia aside, those earlier Maybachs like the 57 and 62 conveyed a sense of excess and purpose. It was luxury at its finest, and then some. An S-Class was for the CEO being driven to boardrooms. The Maybach would ferry hip-hop stars to A-lister parties, complete with entourage in tow. The S, for all its qualities, was a bit too plain Jane in the relative sense. It still caused velvet ropes to part with ease, but the Maybach appealed to my sensibilities better. It wasn’t subtle, and compared to a run-of-the-mill S-Class, it was rarer and more unobtainable. Ballers bought Maybachs, not board members.

Fast forward to the current and those old Maybachs that I loved and adored are long gone. The S-Class in comparison has gone on to flourish, blooming into a tech-laden luxury limo that continues to go about its business of ferrying the rich and famous in unparalleled comfort. Its brilliance is also a double-edged sword, because if you find yourself in the swankier neighbourhoods of Indian metros, you will inevitably manage to clock quite a few S-Classes rolling about. Car spotters don’t bother to crane their necks out for one anymore either, unless it’s been specced as exuberantly as actor Ranveer Singh’s fashion taste.

Mercedes-Maybach S-Class design

Which is why when you take a gander at the new Maybach S-Class, the story starts off on a reassuring note, because it looks and feels ‘loud’ by the standards of luxury cars. The overall silhouette might appear a touch too familiar but the illuminated elements, such as the enlarged grille surrounds, the three-pointed star on the bonnet and the C-pillar emblem do convey a greater sense of presence. The headlamps feature rose gold elements, and the wheels on which the Maybach rolls – you can choose between 21-inch forged MANUFAKTUR units in a gold finish or 20-inch polished all-silver examples – simply look sensational with the Mercedes logo that self-centres. The thought of kerbing one is too painful to bear, so is the thought of actually driving one in India and potentially getting it dirty, particularly with the two-tone Opalite White and Verde Silver colour scheme pictured here, which will potentially be an absolute attention magnet. There’s also the Night Series which brings in darker colour schemes like the Obsidian Black and Mojave Silver, but let’s be honest, if you were of the stealth wealth type, you probably would have chosen something else.

Mercedes-Benz Maybach S-Class interior

Gracefully settling yourself into the rear seats of the S-Class will reveal that the gesture controls for the rear doors have been replaced by voice control, and there’s also a button to ensure that you don’t have to concern yourself with stretching out to open the doors or to close them. The wheelbase of the new Maybach S-Class has been upped by 180mm over the regular long-wheelbase S, there’s certainly no dearth of space for lounging about, and the interior has also received a redesign. The centre console features a phone cradle with integrated charging while the rear gets champagne flute holders and a refrigerated compartment to keep your bubbly chilled.

The beech brown colour scheme reminds you of the old-money aesthetic and its warmth, while the ambient lighting is decidedly more current with 199 LEDs and 64 individually selectable colours. Opinions might be divided on how many screens are too many to have in a car but perhaps one of my favourite bits about the Maybach S Class’ cabin is that the MBUX Superscreen has been integrated into the dashboard in a more natural fashion, with a 14.4-inch central display, a 12.28-inch passenger display and a 12.28-inch digital instrument cluster for the driver. This also marks the first time that the MB.OS has been integrated into a Maybach model for the first time, paired with the fourth-gen MBUX infotainment.

Mercedes-Maybach S-Class engines

Of course, to haul all of these luxurious trappings of the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class is a tall order, which is why the range-topping S680 is powered by the latest evolution of the 4-litre V8 dubbed the M177 Evo. This engine, which will power the Maybach in Europe and other select markets, produces an output of 603bhp and 850Nm, with an additional 23bhp and 205Nm provided by the mild-hybrid powertrain and its integrated starter generator. The V8 in the S680 makes the same power output as the V12 which will continue to be offered in certain markets, while the S580 will be powered with a 530bhp and 750Nm-packing V8, with an additional 23bhp and 205Nm from the mild-hybrid powertrain.

From our first impressions, the latest Mercedes-Maybach S-Class doesn't break any new ground or doing something radically different from earlier models. But it definitely carries forward that DNA of luxurious excess that we saw years in the 57 and 62 with greater prominence than some of the Maybach S-Class’ predecessors in recent years. It’s a perfect fit for this post-Succession era, where loud luxury seems to be in thing again. So if you’ve done reasonably well in life and are looking for your next luxury limo, do yourself a favour. Spend a considerable time with the configurator, splurge out on options and create your Maybach S-Class with the shoutiest spec that you dare. Because while this might still be a ‘just’ a Mercedes-Benz S-Class at heart, the Maybach will bring out the exhibitionist side of you, allowing you to feel like a baller and live larger than life, even if it’s just a Monday and you’re on the way to the office to sit in another boring boardroom meeting.