It’s like flying business class, really. There you are in your
high-style seating pod as if you were flying Virgin Atlantic, and you
lean back in the quilted leather upholstery of the executive-style
seating with your head in the soft pillow and your legs outstretched,
and the 5.1 surround sound plays as you watch an information video on
the high-def screen. You unfold the tray table from the center console
and pour yourself a sparkling water.
Sure, the
2016 Maybach-Mercedes S600
is just like airplane, only instead of being trapped in a soulless box
at 40,000 feet, you have a full view of the landscape rushing past your
window. You can forget about those limp spargel salads from the flight
attendant, because there is some new exotic food being served at the
bottom of every off-ramp, probably with a drive-through lane for your
convenience.
Downton Abbey? Get over it
As Americans, we’re still so provincial, always wishing we were British. Present us with a car like the
2016 Mercedes-Maybach S600,
and we think immediately of stuffy rich people and chauffeurs in white
gloves. We’re at once offended by what we interpret as pure extravagance
and yet hopelessly envious.Well, it’s not 1921 anymore, so
it’s time to grow up. Sure, the 2016 Mercedes-Maybach S600 is indeed all
about the rear-seat experience. (Don’t pretend it isn’t.) But you
should consider that this car slides into the position once occupied by
big, black executive-class cars meant to transport people of
consequence. The Lincoln Town Car is dead, and neither sport-utilities
like the Lincoln MKT nor luxury minivans like the now-departed
Mercedes-Benz R-Class have filled the gap.
The Maybach is more like the beginning of a trend in
executive-class transportation than the end of one. It is useful where
the traffic is slow, like the ring road in Beijing where the average
speed is now slower than it was when bicycles were the primary
transportation device. It is useful where the traffic is fast, like
Europe, where terrible flying weather for cross-country travel means the
automobile becomes the equivalent of a private jet. Moreover, the
Maybach S600 can be a mobile office, a kind of calling card in business
circles.
Is it an extravagance? Well, any automobile that is
larger and more luxurious than a Smart Fortwo can be thought of as an
extravagance.
Expanding the envelope
Probably you’re thinking that the 2016 Mercedes-Maybach S600 is nothing
but a stretched Mercedes-Benz S-Class. And you’re right, this is an
S-Class chassis with a wheelbase that has been stretched 7.9 inches. And
why not? The S-Class is already thought to be best car in the world by
many, so simply expanding the car’s envelope is a good strategy.
Compared to a dedicated super-luxury package like a Bentley Mulsanne or
Rolls-Royce Phantom, the Maybach S-Class is less expensive, so the
potential sales volume goes up. And as we’re reminded by Johannes
Reifenrath, the director of product strategy for Mercedes-Benz, the
Maybach can also incorporate all the sophisticated electronics of the
S-Class, not just the latest active-safety measures right now but also
the autonomous driving features that are sure to come.So
there’s not much mystery beneath the skin here. Beneath the hood of the
Maybach S600 you’ll find a 523-hp, twin-turbo 6.0-liter V-12 matched
with a seven-speed automatic transmission. The S600 has the S-Class’s
automatic body control, and it comes with 20-inch forged wheels. The
Maybach’s rear doors are actually 2.6 inches shorter than those of the
S-Class, a change that ensures the rear-seat passengers can be concealed
from the outside by the rear pillar of the roof. Nevertheless, the
Maybach’s bodyshell incorporates the largest one-piece side panel now
being made in series production.
Flying low in the rear seat
It’s all about riding in the rear seat, isn’t it? There’s indeed plenty
of space, some 37.9 inches of headroom (0.5 inches more than a standard
S-Class) and 12.8 inches of kneeroom (6.3 inches more than an S-class).
You can recline the seatback 43.5 degrees as a panel beneath your calves
rises to support your legs. An array of rear-seat air vents controls
the temperature while a special sensor creates separate climate zones
for each rear passenger. The Maybach S-Class also offers a panoramic
sunroof.
There are the usual luxury accoutrements you might expect in a car
like this, like the standard-equipment champagne flutes concealed in the
center console and the optional system that gives the rear compartment
the scent of Maybach’s signature Agarwood perfume. (Both of which we
find a little creepy, actually.) Since we’re Americans, we’ll probably
better appreciate the way you can work in the back seat. An
aircraft-style aluminum tray deploys from the center console table, and
it’s both sturdy and features a leather insert to deliver a good writing
surface. The Burmester sound system delivers not just 5.1 surround
sound for entertainment audio but also has HD voice amplification for
telephone calls. Most of all, the rear compartment is an especially
quiet place in which to work, which is partially a consequence of the
way in which the passengers sit away from the side windows and beneath
the rear window.
Finally, the rear seat of the 2016
Mercedes-Maybach S600 is an exceptionally safe place. It starts with
close attention to structural integrity. Then there’s the seat-belt
buckle extender, which comes out to make the buckle easy to locate and
then retracts to ensure the belt is cinched across a passenger’s pelvis,
not his belly. An airbag in the seat cushion will deploy in a crash if
the passenger is reclined, preventing him from submarining beneath the
belt. The lower belt portion of the three-point belt also incorporates
its own airbag, which effectively increases the width of the belt to
distribute impact forces across a broader area. And finally side impacts
trigger the deployment of the usual thorax and window airbags.
It’s the future, not the past
At a starting price of $190,275, the 2016 Mercedes-Maybach S600 isn’t
exactly for everyone. And since Mercedes identifies the 212,000 people
who compose the world’s super-rich (assets of $30 million) as the prime
audience here, the Maybach S-Class even starts to seem irrelevant.But
we can see a little bit of the future in this Mercedes S-Class. When
the traffic is congested and vehicle counts in downtown areas are
restricted (as they already are in London and Singapore), a hire car
starts to make a lot of sense. Certainly the preference of drivers in
China for cars with large rear seats -- cars as different as the BMW 3
Series GT and the Toyota Corolla -- shows us that there are
circumstances in which a back seat can be considered a necessity, not
just a convenience. And with the popularity of smartphone applications
for arranging car transportation, everyone in the U.S. is already
getting used to the idea of taxi service, whether plain or fancy.
And
should a Maybach-Mercedes S600 show up at the curb the next time you
schedule car service, we can assure you that you’ll be very, very happy.
2016 Mercedes-Maybach S600 Specifications
|
On sale:
|
April
|
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Price:
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$190,275 (base)
|
|
Engine:
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6.0L twin-turbo DOHC 48-valve
V-12/523 hp @ 4,900-5,300 rpm, 612 lb-ft @ 1,900-4,000 rpm
|
|
Transmission:
|
7-speed automatic
|
|
Layout:
|
4-door, 4-passenger, front-engine,
RWD sedan
|
|
L x W x H:
|
214.6 x 76.0 x 59.0 in
|
|
Wheelbase:
|
132.5 in
|
|
0-60 mph:
|
5.0 sec
|
|
Top speed:
|
155 mph
|
Source by AutomobileMag.com
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