THE flagship of all Mercedes-Benz SUVs is now just a few months away from arriving Down Underneath with the German marque this week revealing the native pricing for its new Maybach GLS600 4Matic, a $358,300 upper-large SUV designed to take the posh combat to the Bentley Bentayga and even the Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
Carrying an eye-watering $102,600 worth premium over the performance-oriented AMG GLS63 4Matic+, the GLS600 is all about one factor: absolute luxurious.
Powered by the identical twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 because the rampant AMG – albeit detuned barely – the GLS600 develops 410kW of energy and 730Nm of torque nevertheless an additional 16kW/250Nm may be quickly contributed by a 48-volt mild-hybrid system and built-in starter-alternator.
Whereas the AMG is all about luxurious efficiency, the Maybach’s outputs are devoted to offering a simple driving expertise, a degree hammered residence by the usual inclusion of comfort-biased adaptive air suspension.
Regardless of having 9 ratios to cycle by means of, engineers have tuned the GLS600’s energy supply to be as flat and constant as doable within the quest for a clean journey.
As such, the drivetrain has been tuned to cut back the variety of gearshifts throughout take-off, a lot in order that it really pulls away from a standstill in second gear.
When the temper does take you nevertheless, these monstrous outputs can catapult the virtually three-tonne Maybach from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds and on to an electronically restricted prime pace of 250km/h.
Given it’s a member of Mercedes’ greatest SUV mannequin line, house is in abundance within the GLS600, one thing that has lengthy been heralded as a cornerstone of luxurious motoring, which is why the usual GLS’ third row seating has been binned in favour of an extra set-back second row.
In response to Mercedes-Maybach product director Martin Hulder, one of many different key items to the posh puzzle is experience top.
“The raised place in an SUV offers the occupants a special perspective of the environment, and plenty of Mercedes-Maybach clients drastically recognize this,” he stated.
“By the way, a raised seating place is nothing new within the luxurious phase: the grand luxurious saloons of the Nineteen Thirties, such because the Maybach Zeppelin, had an analogous seating top for the driving force and passengers, and really related proportions.”
Being absolutely the model flagship – together with the upcoming Maybach S-Class – there may be virtually an excessive amount of commonplace gear included on the GLS600 to record, nevertheless a number of the highlights embody Nappa leather-based upholstery, a sliding/tilting panoramic sunroof with curler blind, climatised therapeutic massage seats, twin 12.3-inch digital screens (infotainment/digital instrument cluster), 1590W Burmester 3D surround-sound system, a complicated air-conditioning system that may measure the inside and exterior temperatures, angle of the solar and air humidity in addition to the inevitable wealth of high-end sound-proofing measures.
Whereas the pricing has been introduced now, the primary examples of the Maybach GLS600 usually are not anticipated to reach Down Underneath till August.
Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific has bought 95 examples of the current-generation GLS to this point this yr ending February, accounting for 15.8 per cent of the $100,000+ upper-large SUV phase.
2021 Mercedes-Benz GLS pricing*
| 450 (a) | $148,900 |
| 400d (a) | $155,800 |
| AMG 63 (a) | $255,700 |
| Maybach 600 (a) | $358,300 |
*Excludes on-road prices
