Mercedes-Maybach SUV for this year

The most luxurious Mercedes-badged SUV in history will debut in November, wearing Maybach badges.

The Mercedes-Maybach version of the GLS will make its debut with every luxury item Benz can throw at it to attract customers in China, Russia and the US.

Its stranglehold on the top end of the SUV world has been badly shaken by Range Rover’s Autobiography series, Rolls-Royce’s new Cullinan and Bentley’s Bentayga, and it’s looking to take the S-Class’s upper reaches into the world of SUVs.

It launched the fully revamped Mercedes-Benz-branded GLS earlier this year, which scored rave reviews, but some of Benz’s more opulent customers are demanding more luxury.

The Mercedes-Maybach GLS will pull some of the Maybach 6’s styling themes onto its own bodywork interpretation of the GLS, cementing Maybach as a proper luxury sub-brand in the same way AMG offers the performance version.

The core engineering won’t change much and will retain the metal-mix chassis, with a combination of lightweight aluminium and high-strength steels, though the grille, headlights and tail-lights will be unique.

Expected to gain a stretched wheelbase, the Maybach GLS will push out from its 3080mm wheelbase to something more competitive with the longer Range Rover SV Autobiography.

Benz’s home-brand GLS tops out with the Designo range of ultra-luxury trims and pieces, but the Maybach is set to take things to an entirely new level.

It will carry over the broad-screen instrument cluster, but add in its own graphics and sounds to go with the new cabin trim pieces and ultra-soft leather.

It should also continue the third-row option for passenger seating, though an ultra-legroom four-seat version is also on the cards.

The Mercedes-Maybach GLS is almost certain to pair with just two powertrains, both sporting nine-speed automatic transmissions and all-wheel drive. The first would be the twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 and the other is the upgraded biturbo V12.