Apart from the extra length, unique Maybach body elements include wider rear doors and extra little rear quarterlight windows, ahead of a grand Maybach logo on the C-pillars. And yes you have this badge lit up, though, sorry, that’s one option not available for the UK market. The rear doors can be electrically opened and closed by the chauffeur.
You might think a car almost 5.5m (18ft) long might be a bit of a handful for the poor chauffeur but Mercedes has thought of this. The new Maybach is the first of its breed with (optional) rear-wheel steering. Two types are available: a 4.5-degree rear steer that drops the turning circle from 13.1m to 12.2m (for tighter London U-turns perhaps), and a more extreme 10-degree set-up that saves another metre on the turning circle and is probably the recommended choice for negotiating Cornish fishing villages.
All the very considerable new tech from the latest S-class is present and correct here, including digital lights, all the latest connectivity and networking features of the MBUX system, head-on airbags for the rear-seat passengers (among a total of 18 airbags in the car), and active air-sprung suspension that reads the road ahead for bumps adjusts damper rates accordingly.
Plus inevitably there is a slew of Drive Pilot assist features so the car can drive itself, as and when that is possible – the second half of 2021 on certain autobahn sections in Germany, believes Mercedes. Your chauffeur will still have to be sat there behind the wheel but he or she will be able to read the paper or surf the net while the Maybach barrels down the motorway.