The Mercedes Maybach SUV could come with an electrified version in its range

The success of crossover body styles is reaching even the upper end of the market, the one of ultra-luxury saloons, which are not resisting offering the advantages of the crossover concept to the most financially well-off buyers on the market. Bentley (Bentayga), Lamborghini (Urus), Aston Martin (Varekai/DBX) or Rolls-Royce Cullinan already have, or are about to present, their models in this new ultra-luxury SUV segment.

And Mercedes does not want to stay on the sidelines, which is why it is preparing the presentation next week at the Auto China 2018 —Beijing, from 25 April to 4 May— of its new SUV, which will be the new Mercedes-Maybach GLS, the most elegant and luxurious version derived from the Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury concept.

What we will see in Beijing is a concept car, since the definitive version to be launched on the market will not be revealed until the next Los Angeles Auto Show (30 November to 9 December), and which will reach the Spanish market during the first quarter of 2019. The Mercedes Maybach SUV is a model developed from the GLS, except that it has a longer wheelbase and an interior and finishes of true luxury.

Although developed from the already known GLS platform, the concept car has a longer wheelbase and an all-luxury interior fitted with a slightly retro dashboard thanks to the design of the steering wheel and the air vents flanking it. The rest offers a style of clean, sober lines, whose success relies in part on the new digital instrumentation and the high-quality materials used on board.

Internally known as Maybach 9, the new flagship of the star brand (Maybach disappeared as an independent brand) will combine the qualities of a large luxury saloon with those of an SUV to win over its main target market, China, for which it has been specially designed, given the increasingly high interest in this type of model in the Eastern country.

Uses the new MHA (Modular High Architecture) modular platform

It uses Mercedes’s MHA (Modular High Architecture) modular platform, an evolution of the current MRA, which the star brand will also use for the new Mercedes-Benz GLE and GLE Coupé. This new platform allows not only the adoption of new 48 V mild-hybrid powertrains like those used in the AMG GT or AMG CLS, but also brings a significant reduction in the car’s kerb weight, despite supporting the car’s steel and aluminium body and the new all-wheel-drive architecture.

Naturally, the new SUV will feature a significant range of distinguishing elements typical of the category, with exclusive designs both outside and inside, and will be equipped with technology-packed features and autonomous driving systems on board.

Pending official confirmation, it seems that in the new Mercedes Maybach SUV the star brand only plans to offer petrol engines and possibly a plug-in hybrid one. What will definitely be available is the AMG V8 M177, the same one that Mercedes fits in its Maybach S 4.0 with 469 CV, although on the Maybach SUV it will surely have more power in order to compete on equal terms with its main rivals in the market. This engine is set to replace in the manufacturer’s range the current 4.7-litre V8 with 455 CV already fitted to the MB GLS 500 4Matic.

The Mercedes Maybach SUV will be the first model bearing the Maybach name that the star brand will produce outside Germany. It will be produced in the USA, at the Daimler plant in Tuscaloosa (Alabama).

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