Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 4Matic: A Bigger Luxury

Before long, there’ll be hip-hop songs written about what went on in the back of Mercedes-Maybach’s largest offering.

Revealed Thursday, the Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 4Matic is essentially a Mercedes-Benz GLS that’s been to finishing school, put on airs, and is now ready to float above the riff-raff at a cruising altitude of 40,000 feet, sipping on champagne all the way. The automaker provides the silver flutes for just such a drinking experience, as well as the (three-bottle) fridge.

Interestingly, Mercedes-Maybach’s product boss implied that the vehicle’s customers might be used to viewing the world from such a lofty height.

Dispensing with the third-row seats found in the Mercedes-Benz GLS, Maybach’s creation offers no more than five seating positions, but it seems you’ll be much more pampered in four-seater guise. Yes, this monstrous, full-size SUV can be had as a 2+2, which is two occupants less than the executive cabin of most Learjets.

Stretching out will not be a problem, what with the reclining outboard seats. Indeed, crafting a Maybach SUV was a no-brainer, given the way the industry’s going.

“The SUV vehicle concept has a major advantage for the luxury segment: the high seating position. In combination with the running boards, this makes access and egress outstandingly easy and convenient,” said Martin Hülder, head of product management at Mercedes-Maybach, in a statement.

He added, perhaps metaphorically, “Furthermore, the raised position gives the occupants a different perspective of the surroundings, and many Mercedes-Maybach customers greatly appreciate this.”

Powering this hulking luxo-barge is a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 (numbers mean nothing these days, so attribute the “600” designation to the vehicle’s status, not its displacement), good for 550 horsepower and 538 lb-ft of torque, that routes its grunt to all four wheels through a beefed-up 9G-Tronic automatic. There’s a hidden power punch, too, in the form of a 48-volt mild hybrid system.

Called EQ Boost, the belt-starter generator adds up to 21 additional horsepower and 184 lb-ft when the driver (chauffeur) pins the throttle. EPA-estimated fuel economy figures are not yet available, but you can be sure this particular performance figure is something few buyers will concern themselves with.

Yes, it’s all about the luxury here — from the Airmatic suspension that drops 25 mm at rest to the available 22- and 23-inch wheels, the 6.8-feet-long anodized aluminum running boards that deploy and retract in 1.5 seconds, the eight two-tone color combinations, all the way down to the backrest-mounted MBUX rear-seat entertainment system and specially crafted fragrance. That scent is white osmanthus blossom, by the way.

Like the full-length console with fridge, a bespoke smell can be ordered to jazz up the vehicle’s cabin. Just tick the box for the Air Balance package and await the aroma of leather and spicy tea. Mercedes-Maybach claims its testers found it to be “floral and light.”

Obviously, there’s enough niceties — both comfort and safety-related — in this vehicle to make a Rockefeller blush, so do we really need to list them? Mercedes-Maybach would be happy, perhaps, to tell you more in person. Wear your Sunday best.

The GLS 600 4Matic goes on sale in the U.S. in the latter half of 2020. Watch for its distinctive face in music videos shortly thereafter.

[Images: Daimler AG]