Also the first with a six-cylinder
Mercedes-Maybach is adding a third engine to its S-class range. It is a plug-in hybrid variant with a system power of 510 hp. The car owes this partly to a six-in-line, making it the first modern Maybach for Europe (and the Netherlands) with fewer than eight cylinders.
When Mercedes-Benz revived the Maybach name in the late 1990s, a Rolls-Royce competitor with only twelve cylinders was the result. The success of that car – with Maybach as the brand name – was not resounding, so there would be no question of a successor. Nevertheless, the luxury name reappeared during the existence of the previous generation S-class, as the denominator for the most luxurious S-class on sale. You could not only get that with a twelve-cylinder, but also with an eight-cylinder.
Mercedes-Benz also offers Maybach versions of the current generation S-class as top-class models, so far only with at least eight cylinders. At least: in Europe. The Germans already have a six-cylinder variant on the Chinese market, and from soon in Europe too – although it is not the same. Mercedes is introducing a new powertrain for the Maybach version: a plug-in hybrid six-cylinder with the name S580 e.
It is being introduced in China, but will also be available on the Dutch market in the not too distant future. We already know the powertrain from the ‘regular’ S580 e, produces a maximum of 510 hp for a 0 to 100 of 5.1 seconds and has an ‘electric range’ of up to 100 km WLTP. The latter is due to a battery with a 28.6 kWh gross capacity that you can charge with up to 60 kW using a DC charger.
Least expensive Maybach
It is not yet known when the Mercedes-Maybach S580 e will be available to order in the Netherlands. We also have to guess at the price for the time being, although the lower emissions of the ‘new’ powertrain will ensure that the starting price is significantly lower than that for the eight- or twelve-cylinder variants. Long live the bpm. As an indication: a Mercedes-Maybach with V8 and all-wheel drive costs from €245,379, a Mercedes-Benz S580 e (Lang) with rear-wheel drive from €148,763 and a Mercedes-Benz S580 (Lang) with V8 and all-wheel drive from €197,431. A regular S with the plug-in hybrid powertrain is therefore about 25 percent cheaper than the version with V8. Whether that also applies to the Maybach remains to be seen.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl