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Just a minute. You have forgotten your phone.†The dulcet tone of the voice coming from the depths of the Maybach took people by surprise. People didn’t know who she was, but she was right. We’d left our cell charging in the center console.
Turns out the Mercedes-Maybach S 580, especially its onboard artificial intelligence minder system, doesn’t miss much for the people who can spend the $184,900 (starting) to get one.
Cup holders keep your coffee warm or your spritz cold. Systems promote circulation and deep breathing by kneading muscles and adjusting sounds, lighting, air purification, and fragrance. Sunshades provide discretion as much as protection from solar rays. Wood-grained folding tables unfurl to support laptops. Suede pillows puffed like marshmallows lashed to the headrests. Warmers toast your neck and arms, not just your back. It’s a lot.
The strength and status of the Maybach name remain hazy in current market waters, since it can tend to waft into and out of pop culture. The 113-year-old brand beloved by tycoons and music titans alike has survived years of dormancy punctuated by wild success. But regardless of whether people end up wanting to buy this iteration, driving the Mercedes-Maybach S 580 is an affair to remember. Riding as a passenger is even better.
You may have heard “Maybach†most recently uttered in tandem with designer Virgil Abloh’s name. The late Louis Vuitton menswear director designed an 18-foot-long Mercedes-Maybach S 680, which goes on limited sale globally later this year. He also designed an off-road Project Maybach concept car, which won’t see production but hints at possibilities to come.
Those are the latest in a long line of coaches from one of the oldest existing auto brands on the market, which became synonymous with speed, power, and prestige after Wilhelm Maybach and his son, Karl, founded it in 1909. As early as the 1920s, Maybachs including the SW 42 featured such newfangled
inventions as electric windows.
Since then, and until recent years, the brand has oscillated between comatose and life support—with some shining moments of relevance and popularity. In 1960, Daimler-Benz acquired the faltering Maybach Motorenbau business, and in 1997, after long dormancy, Mercedes presented a modern Maybach concept at the Tokyo Motor Show. The Maybach 52 and 62 arrived in the early 2000s. A 2004 Maybach 57 was immortalised when Jay-Z and Kanye West featured it in a video for their 2011 song Otis—just as the brand re-tranquillised itself
because of low sales.
Everyone agrees that the potential for Maybach to make big bucks for its parent company is massive. In fact, it’s the key part of a new business strategy Mercedes-Benz Group AG announced that will focus more on higher-end, higher-margin vehicles. (The starting price of the Maybach is roughly $75,000 more than a regular Mercedes S-Class—and
pricing goes up from there.)
Last year, Mercedes-Maybach sold more than 15,000 units globally, up more than 50% from 2020, bolstered largely by sales in China. In May it uncovered a new concept incorporating Chanel-like boucle, rose gold studs, white leather, and shaggy faux fur that basically looked like a vending machine had exploded.
Earlier this year, Maybach named Daniel Lescow as its top executive and chief spokesperson to promote the brand’s
rejuvenation.
The Mercedes-Maybach S 580 offers plenty of actual rejuvenation to those of us inside its confines, for reasons that have little to do with its 496-horsepower V-8 engine and 516 pound-feet of torque. It can hit 60 mph in 4.7 seconds and gets just 24 mpg on the highway.
