The 2021 Shanghai Auto Show is last week’s news, but in the multitude of premieres, one managed to slip away until now. This is the new 2021 Mercedes-Maybach S480 and is exclusive to the Chinese market, though some believe that it might actually launch in the West as the S450.
Why the S450 and not the S480? That’s
because it uses the same engine as the Benz S-Class, namely a 3.0-liter
gasoline unit with mild hybrid assistance. It generates a combined output of
362 HP and 500 Nm of torque in both cars.
However, due the difference in size and
weight, the Maybach S480 is slightly slower than the S450 in the 0-100
km/h, with 5.8 seconds compared to S450’s 5.1 seconds. The new six-cylinder Maybach
has a top speed electronically limited to 250 km/h, and it returns
the equivalent of 27.5 mpg US (8.56 l/100 km).
As you can expect, there is nothing
entry-level about the new Maybach S480, because it’s still bathed in the finest
materials available and comes with everything required from a luxury sedan. The
model is listed on the official website from RMB 1,458,000 (US$ 224,655) and it is the only Maybach S-Class
available in China at the moment. Nevertheless, it is understood to be joined
by S580 and S650 variants, which have a 496 HP twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 and a
621 HP bi-turbo 6.0-liter V12 respectively.
The new Maybach S-Class will arrive in the
U.S. this summer, in the V8-powered spec, with an MSRP of US$ 184,900, excluding
the US$ 1,050 destination charge.
