Mercedes-Maybach is venturing into the world of PHEVs with the new S 580 e

Maybach, a brand owned by Mercedes, sits at the pinnacle of exclusive, luxury vehicles. It is a brand you should turn to if you are a lover of luxury-laden Mercedes models and, just as importantly, have a wallet thick enough to buy one. Now the luxury marque is venturing into plug-in hybrids, and, as it could not be otherwise, it is doing so with the S-Class.

In autumn 2020, Mercedes-Benz began selling the new S-Class, which was followed shortly after by the announcement of the S 580 plug-in hybrid version e, and almost immediately by its respective 4MATIC all-wheel-drive version. At the time, this plug-in hybrid arrived with the banner of being the first plug-in hybrid to reach 100 kilometres of range in fully electric mode, all of it spiced up by the exclusivity characteristic of the S-Class.

With a new S-Class on the market, Mercedes-Maybach consequently proceeded to update its range, something that quickly became reality, as its arrival and equipment were also announced close to the end of 2020. Now, perhaps somewhat belatedly, Mercedes-Maybach is also adding to its range the S 580 e plug-in hybrid version, thus marking Maybach’s official entry into the electrification of its models.

As you can imagine, the formula under the bonnet is repeated: we find a 3,000 cc six-cylinder inline petrol engine delivering 367 CV and 500 Nm of torque, working alongside an electric motor of 110 kW and 440 Nm, which translates into a combined system output of 510 CV and 750 Nm of torque. These figures allow the Mercedes-Maybach S 580 e to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.1 seconds and reach a top speed of 250 km/h, limited to 140 km/h in fully electric mode.

For now, Mercedes-Maybach has not revealed the battery fitted to the S 580 e, but it is expected to be the same 28 kWh capacity unit as its Mercedes-Benz sibling, so the fully electric range on the WLTP cycle should remain 100 kilometres. Once the battery is depleted, we can use the 11 kW charger supplied as standard, although there will also be an optional 60 kW unit with which the battery can be fully recharged in 30 minutes.

Otherwise, the Mercedes-Maybach S 580 e remains faithful to the luxury, attention to detail and opulence already shown in the conventional combustion-engined variant, and it is only differentiated on the exterior through its nomenclature and the blue details applied to the headlights. Inside, as expected, we will find information specific to its hybrid propulsion system on the instrument cluster. It will launch first in China, followed by Thailand, Europe and other markets, so we will have to wait a little longer to learn its price in Spain.