LA MOTOR SHOW: Mercedes-Benz Maybach

Just when you thought the Maybach name was dead, Mercedes-Benz has brought it back as a luxury sub-brand and to adorn the biggest, most luxurious S-Class version in history.

Daimler has revived its historic brand less than two years after killing it off and, what’s more, it has spun the name 'Mercedes-Maybach' to be the luxury and exclusivity sub-brand for standard Mercedes-Benz models in the same way Mercedes-AMG adds performance.

Expect all future big Benzes to add a Mercedes-Maybach hyper luxury model in much the same way as the Mercedes-Maybach S 600, which was designed and engineered alongside the two standard S-Class versions.

It boasts an interior so special that not only are its reclining rear seats hand stitched but it has its own unique, custom-designed fragrance, spread throughout the car by the Mercedes-Benz Air Balance system in the glovebox.

At 5453mm long, the new Mercedes-Maybach S600 takes the already-huge S-Class long wheelbase and adds 20cm to the wheelbase and 207mm to the overall length. The only longer vehicle in the Mercedes-Benz family is the mighty G 63 AMG 6X6.

It’s a full 186mm longer than the longest Audi A8, 241mm longer than the longest BMW 7 Series, 206mm longer than the long-wheelbase Jaguar XJ and 54mm longer than the standard Rolls-Royce Ghost.

It runs into stiffer length competition with the long-wheelbase version of the Ghost, though, which runs to 5569mm, while the Phantom is an enormous 5834mm long.

Crucially, almost all of the added 207mm is given over to the rear seats, with a 200mm tack-on in the wheelbase, which stretches it out to 3365mm, translating millimeter for millimeter to the rise in rear-seat legroom.

That translates into a wheelbase that’s 243mm longer than the A8 LWB, 155 longer than the 760i L, 208mm longer than the XJ LWB and 70mm longer than the Ghost.

It will be on sale in the northern hemisphere, including China, by February next year, though Mercedes-Benz has yet to announce pricing for the standard version or the almost limitless array of options.

If there was ever a doubt that this was a Mercedes-Benz for the rear-seat occupants, then a scan down the standard features eradicates them. It boasts the debut of voice amplification technology so the driver and the rear-seat occupants can talk without raising their voices.

Boasting an astonishing drag coefficient of 0.26 Cd, it’s even quieter through the air than the S-Class Coupe that boasts of being the world’s quietest car. Both rear seats recline – complete with passive safety systems designed to protect its occupants regardless of the position of the seat.

“The history of prestige vehicles made by Daimler extends back to the earliest days of the motor car,” Mercedes-Benz board member for sales, Ola Kallenius, said.

“We have now commenced a new chapter with the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class. As an addition to the portfolio of S-Class sedans, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class sets new standards in the luxury segment,” he claimed.

Besides being expensive and comfortable, it’s also fast enough to hit 100km/h in five seconds, with a top speed limited to 250km/h and, though Mercedes-Maybach isn’t admitting to anything yet, its kerb weight will be out well over 2300kg.

It gets there by using a smooth-spinning version of Mercedes-Benz’s biturbo, 6.0-litre V12, complete with 390kW of power and 830Nm of torque from just 1900rpm.

Though it boasts an all-aluminium crankcase, a forged crankshaft, forged pistons and sodium-filled valves, it’s far from the Benz technology leader in engines, with just three valves per cylinder, no variable valve timing and old-school multi-point fuel injection.

With all that torque, Benz has given the Mercedes-Maybach S 600 a tried and trusted seven-speed automatic transmission for its February, 2015 debut, though that’s not the end of the story.

By June, most northern hemisphere markets will have a Mercedes-Maybach S 500 as well, which has far higher levels of powertrain technology all through the car. For starters, it will use a nine-speed automatic transmission for lower fuel consumption and precise shifting.

Then it will use the family 4663cc biturbo V8 engine, complete with 335kW of power and 700Nm of torque from only 1800rpm, and it will match that performance potential to all-wheel drive.

Not only that, but the V8 version chimes in at Category C for efficiency, while the S 600 is way down in Category F, largely because it uses 11.7L/100km against the V8’s 8.9L/100km. Its emissions are correspondingly poor, with 274g/km of CO2 compared to the V8’s 207. What’s more, the V8 is every bit as fast in a straight line…

Unlike the ungainly Maybach, the Mercedes-Maybach S 600 was designed at the same time as the rest of the S-Class range, and designed by the same people.

In spite of its extra length, the rear doors are, surprisingly, 66mm shorter than those in the long wheelbase S-Class. The design team managed this trick by pulling the traditional triangular window out of the door and on to the front edge of the C-pillar.

The rear seats are, effectively, tucked in behind the door frame, which adds to the privacy and lowers the wind noise from around the rear windows.

“Positioning the passengers away from the side windows and towards the rear window and triangular windows creates a new acoustic situation,” Mercedes-Benz board member for research and development, Dr Thomas Weber, said.

There are newly designed door seals to lower the noise, extra insulation around the rear seats and parcel shelf, a textile fabric lines the underbody and the wheel arches and even the inertia reel seat belts are sealed to lower their noise levels.

The interior is hand-stitched and the car has 159mm more knee room than the long-wheelbase S-Class, with executive seats standard even on the laughably named entry-level version.

Unlike most adjustable rear seats, the rear backrests recline back to 43.5 degrees from the normal 19 degrees and they do it independent of the base, which can be adjusted longitudinally and horizontally.

The S-Class’s sumptuous luxury head rests come standard in the rear, while the legs also score adjustable calf and foot support.

The passenger diagonally opposite the chauffeur gets the cat-bird seat, though, because it has 77mm more foot room, largely because the front passenger seat can be pushed a long, long way forward. It not only pushes forward, it also can have its headrest folded forward, while a footrest folds down from its rear shell.

The rear part of the cabin also has its own dual-zone climate control system, with vents in the back of the front centre console, the foot well and the B-pillars.

The Mercedes-Maybach S 600 also has options. Lots of options. Some of those include hot-rock style massages, double-jointed foldout tables and a pair of Peltier-style thermal drink holders that can keep drinks either cool or warm – handy, given the car’s optional silver-plated Robbe & Berking champagne flutes.