It’s been almost a decade since Daimler announced the revival of the Maybach name as an uber-luxurious sub-brand of Mercedes-Benz, helping the German automaker lock horns with Rolls-Royce and Bentley. While the current Maybach line-up includes high-end versions of the S-class, EQS SUV, and GLS, Mercedes is reportedly planning to elevate the luxury sub-brand to even higher levels of exclusivity by offering bespoke builds to extra-special customers. According to a report by Car and Driver, the manufacturer will expand the Maybach line-up in the near future with additional examples of the brand’s so-called “Myth” or “Legend” vehicles, which will be “either very expensive limited-run vehicles or even more exclusive one-offs commissioned by wealthy collectors.”
Building ultra-exclusive, coach-built models for well-heeled customers has proven to be very popular for high-end automakers over the last few years. While Rolls-Royce has a rich heritage of creating coach-built vehicles in the past, the British luxury automaker revived its century-old tradition a few years back to create exclusive, hand-built models to satiate the needs of its patrons. Bentley has also followed in the same footsteps to introduce the Batur, a hyper-limited, coach-built grand tourer. However, Mercedes will have to do a lot more than add Maybach logos and use more high-end materials to compete against Rolls-Royce and Bentley. But the German automaker seems to be up for the task and lift the Maybach brand to the next level. “That’s why we are going to turn Maybach into kind of a coachbuilt super-Mercedes, which lifts personalization to a whole new level,” an unnamed senior representative told Car and Driver.
One of the first new models expected to join the Maybach line-up is the ultra-luxurious version of the SL-Class. Based on the current Mercedes-AMG SL, the Maybach version would focus on refinement, comfort, and luxury, transforming the sports car into an ultra-luxurious GT. However, to make the upcoming models more exclusive, Mercedes will have to delve into unique body panels and made-to-measure bodies, hand-built for specific customers. It will be interesting to see if these models will be as custom-made and exclusive as the Droptail models Rolls-Royce revealed earlier this year.
