New Maybach shows its face (almost)

Hang on, though, for a “super-luxury” brand, it’s actually quite sporty looking. Isn’t that front end a bit Mercedes-AMG GTR-like, with its (Gullwing-inspired) vertical bars? (There are 10 more bars here than the GTR though, we checked…).

Maybe the idea that you have Mercedes-Benz (for taxis and others), and then Mercedes-Maybach (for super luxury) and Mercedes-AMG (for super sporty) is a bit too clear cut. One reason could be that engendering some driving passion in Maybach is now a priority; after all, one of the things that did for the 2002-2013 Maybach incarnations, the glitzy and leviathan 57 and 62 models, was that they were all about the the person in the (admittedly pretty comfy) back seat.

Maybachs have always been huge and luxurious but, historically, they were aimed originally at “gentlemen drivers”, including even a few who competed in them. And prewar there were certainly sleek two-door Maybachs, so this concept is not without precedent. From just the looks, and the little of them we have so far seen, the new car is surely a machine that makes you want to climb aboard and drive off. No Maybach 62 ever did that.

We could speculate further – what about a fully electric version also to provide the basis of a new Lagonda? Maybach/Aston tie-ups have been mooted in the past and Daimler does own 5% of AML now. But we won’t.

This is very much a story to watch then, what could indicate game-changing intentions in the global super-luxury market – of no little interest to a certain car company at Goodwood of course.

According to the Mercedes news drip-feed, the next appointment with the Maybach will be on Tuesday when a video will be released, ahead of the full reveal on GRR on Friday, tieing in with its public bow at Pebble Beach. And after that? It will be off to the Paris Motor Show at the end of September – more on what we can expect there coming soon on GRR.