2016 Mercedes-Maybach S600: Galactus, Your Chariot Awaits

"The choice of a gentleman." That’s Daimler’s line in China, where the Mercedes-Maybach S-class was shown a few hours before its debut at the Los Angeles auto show. We don't think this slogan would fly in the U.S.—may we suggest “Occupy what now?”—but it emphasizes the fact that this S-class is all about conservative style and elegance.

The last cars to wear the Maybach badge never came close to reaching Daimler’s goal of 1000 units per year—approximately 3000 cars were made over a decade-long run—and no one was expecting a return of the badge. But return it has, as Mercedes-Maybach, which joins Mercedes-AMG as a subbrand of the three-pointed star.

The previous Maybachs were barely exceptional at launch and hopelessly outdated by the time they were discontinued, but this new car will sit on the bleeding edge of technology. Credit the bones of the current S-class, which is perhaps the best-equipped and most forward-looking luxury car on the planet. And any update made to the S-class, be it a telematics, powertrain, or autonomous-driving option, can immediately be fitted to the Mercedes-Maybach as well.

In the U.S., the new car will launch as the Mercedes-Maybach S600, fitted with the same 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-12 that powers the “regular” Mercedes-Benz S600. It makes 523 horsepower and 612 lb-ft of torque, and it viciously runs the car into an electronic governor at 155 mph. Acceleration to 62 mph is said to take five seconds flat. Other markets will be offered the Mercedes-Maybach in eight-cylinder S550 and six-cylinder S400 forms.