With the facelifted S-Class comes the facelifted Mercedes-Maybach. The mighty limousine gets the same visual upgrades
plus unique and ultra shiny new wheels. There are also two new variants: the
S680 and the S560.
The S680 is a bit odd. It is for the Chinese market
only and it is basically the S600 with a new name. The ‘8’ was added because it
is a lucky number in Chinese culture, closely associated with wealth and money. There are no other changes; the engine is the same 530 hp twin-turbo V12 as in
the S600.
China is since long the largest market for the
Maybach series but the best selling car is the S400 4Matic, which is the
cheapest of the lineup, and thus the least profitable. Perhaps Mercedes hopes
that by adding the 8 to the name they will sell some more of the top-end cars.
New steering wheel, upgraded screens, an upgraded
sound system, and an upgraded autonomous drive system that is now able to brake
automatically for sharp corners.
The Mercedes-Maybach S560 is the successor of the
Mercedes-Maybach S500. It gets an all new 4.0 twin-turbo V8 with 470 hp and
700 nm. This engine is also available in the regular S-Class.
New rear lights and shiny pipe tips. They are oval with a divider in the middle, so it really has four pipes.
The success of the Maybach series has surprised both
BMW and Audi, and they got nothing to position against it.
