New Mercedes-Maybach S-Class coming to India on 3rd March

It looks like we might even get the new 612bhp V12-powered Maybach S 680!

Mercedes-Benz India is ready to kick off 2022 with a bang! Just last month, the German marque announced its plan to launch up to 10 new products in India this year, and today, the brand has confirmed that the first launch of the lot will be none other than the latest Maybach S-Class!

Like the outgoing generation, expect the new generation to arrive in both forms, the V8-powered S 580 (a replacement for the S 560) and the V12-powered S 680 (a replacement for the S 650). While the Biturbo V8 (with the EQ Boost mild-hybrid system) churns out 496bhp and 700Nm of torque, the big daddy S 680 is good for a whopping 612bhp and 1,000Nm of torque (the US-spec model), thanks to its mammoth 6.0-litre Biturbo V12.

And here's some more exciting news. The S 580 is expected to go on sale as a locally-assembled CKD model. Therefore, expect the starting price of the range to be relatively lower than before. The S 680, however, will only be available as a fully-built CBU. 

Figures aside, why should anyone be excited about it? Well, as we've seen in the case of the GLS 600 Maybach, which was launched last year, a Maybach model dials everything on a standard Mercedes up to 11. And the aspect that highlights this fact the most on the Maybach S-Class is its wheelbase. At 3,396mm, the wheelbase is 180mm longer than the Long-Wheelbase (LWB) S-Class. And all of it benefits rear-seat occupants.

So, it'll be interesting to see just how many crores one will have to shell out to get into the buyers' queue for the Maybach S-Class. As per our estimate, even with the local-assembly operations, prices are expected to start north of rupees two crores.