Benz’s Ultimate S-class to Compete in $250K Bracket, According to CEO Zetsche

Mercedes will place a new S-class atop its range to replace Maybach, much like this Mercedes Maybach concept from 1997.

Mercedes-Benz is readying its ultra-luxury version of the new S-class, which is being designed to take over at a slightly lower market position than the ill-begotten Maybach. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche told Automotive News that the vehicle—likely called S-class Pullman, although the name is unconfirmed—would play in the $200,000–$250,000 range, rather than in the $400K-plus bracket that Maybach inhabited. He added that the technological and luxury content will top that of the 2014 S-class as currently offered in the marketplace.

The highest-priced S-class to reside outside this über-luxurious range-topping S-class will the the upcoming S65 AMG, which we hear will bow in Los Angeles this November. AMG models, however, place high emphasis on extreme power and ostentatious sportiness, while Benz’s challenger to the Bentley Flying Spur and the Rolls-Royce Ghost will be marked by more restraint and a more conservative style. The upcoming high-level S-class could have a slightly longer wheelbase than even the long-wheelbase model we get stateside, but it won’t come close to the now-discontinued Maybach 62.

Daimler’s decision means that the brand will abandon the segment occupied by both the Maybach 57 and the Maybach 62, which competed head-on with the Rolls-Royce Phantom and the Bentley Mulsanne. Born out of Daimler’s inability to snatch up either of the Bentley or Rolls-Royce brands, Maybach never came close to achieving its projected market performance, and has been regarded as an unnecessary aberration for Daimler at best.

• First Drive: 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-class / S550
• Photos and Info: 2014 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG
• 2015 Mercedes-Benz S-class Pullman Rendered, Detailed

At the S-class launch in May, Mercedes chief designer Gorden Wagener told us that the new S-class is positioned “a half-segment above the outgoing model,” and that its “classic lines” would make it a credible successor of the Maybach. Our own sources tell us that one of the styling elements of the upcoming, top-level S-class will be traditionally styled, high-gloss, machined wheels. The new model is expected to arrive in 2015 as a 2016 model.

Source: CarAndDriver