2026 marks a big year for Mercedes-Benz and its luxury marque, Maybach. With the three-pointed star celebrating 140 years since Carl Benz invented the automobile and Maybach simultaneously celebrating 105 years of redefining modern luxury, clearly something big needed to be on the cards to mark the occasion.
Certainly, the updated 2027 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class fits the bill when it comes to ‘big’ in a literal sense. At 5484mm from nose to tail, it’s longer than a Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV.
Curiously, the Maybach emblem is no longer what you see protruding from its nose, but rather the Mercedes star – although Maybach badging does appear elsewhere.
The price is big, too. Headlining the updated range is a new twin-turbocharged, flat-plane crank V8 with a 48-volt mild hybrid system – dubbed the S580 – which starts at $517,900 before on-roads.
That joins the existing S680, powered by a twin-turbo V12, which is priced at $582,482.
What’s confusing, however, is that the performance figures are identical. The V12 may have more power, serving up 463kW and 900Nm, but the V8 hybrid takes an identical 4.5 seconds to get from 0-100km/h. Not bad for a car that’s about as heavy as the Burj Khalifa.
This, of course, is because it has a higher torque output – 395kW and 750Nm from the engine, plus 17kW and 205Nm from the hybrid system – which is accessible lower down in the rev range.
Why add this new, smaller engine to the flagship Maybach-badged saloon? Unsurprisingly, it’s to get ahead and comply with Euro 7 emissions standards, rolling out in the European Union in late November 2026.
What’s most curious about this new Maybach, though, is that many of the luxuries you’d associate with the marque aren’t actually included as standard.
After the lavish four-seat interior you see in the accompanying pictures, complete with a fridge and champagne flutes? That’ll be $24,200 for the ‘First Class Package’, thank you very much.
How about the big 20-inch alloys, black badging, illuminated door sills, and a nicer cabin with Nappa leather and open-pore walnut trim? You’ll need $34,900 for the ‘Night Series Package’. That chunk of change alone could buy you an entire 10-year-old S-Class.
If you’re looking to go even more personalised, ‘MANUFAKTUR’ bespoke paint and upholstery options are $24,300 and $27,600 respectively.
When you compare this new Mercedes-Maybach to the older Maybach 57/62 that resurrected the brand back in 2002, it shows how luxury car priorities have changed, too.
Rather than install things like a central divider to keep chauffeured businesspeople and celebrities alone in the back, this has loads of tech aimed at the driver.
Factor in the new MB.DRIVE advanced safety and auto-parking system, complete with a system that stops you from kerbing those big alloys, along with MBUX infotainment and MB.OS operating systems.
So, does this new flagship S-Class do enough to justify the Maybach name, and to justify such a hefty price tag? Perhaps, when it arrives in Australia in Q1 2027, we need to spend some time behind the wheel of one to find out.
