Mercedes may be the last word in the common man’s luxury car, but the Maybach is the last word in understated luxury and elegance.  This summer, at the Pebble Beach Golf Links during Concours Weekend, Nick and I had the opportunity to drive quite a few cars, and the Maybach 57S was one of them.

The Maybach brand hasn’t been around even half the time that I have been around, but the name itself has a history dating back to the 1920s, when Mercedes was competing with the heavy hitters across the globe for the attention of the well-heeled.  Of course, the situation now hasn’t changed, and the big Maybach sedans are squarely aimed at Rolls-Royce and Bentley now.  This one, the 57S sedan, is the comparable “sports sedan” of the bunch, yet weighs more than a Cadillac Escalade.  That said, a twin-turbocharged 6.0L V12 sits under that majestic hood ornament, packing an unreal 620bhp and 738lbs-ft of torque, so it would seem that the weight might not really be a big issue.

On the inside, words fail to describe the opulence that coddles the owner or any of the passengers.  The wood and leather, and the other components within the interior, are all of the absolute finest quality–Rolls-Royce and Bentley are good in this respect as well, but the Maybach doesn’t hide all of its toys like the Brits seem to do.

I started my ride in the back seat,which simply put is the best back seat I’ve ever been in.  The amount of extras that the Maybach contains is simply beyond belief.  The seat doesn’t fully recline like it does in the 62, but it still retracts enough for quite a big amount of comfort, and includes a flip-out desk, covered in a beautiful veneer.  But, the desk isn’t all the Maybach 57S has to give its rear-seat passengers.  Up in the rear parcel shelf, a flip-up compartment reveals a pair of sterling silver champagne flutes, which clip into bespoke holders with clamps on the flip-trays.  A refrigerator can be found in the central compartment as well.  Of course, the rear seat wouldn’t be complete without a massage function, which, in this car, makes even the most stressed-out human being into the most relaxed organism on Earth.  After pressing a few buttons on the massage controls, I settled in and took in the gorgeous views provided by the 17-Mile Drive through my rear window, which even included an electric curtain.  The Maybach’s rear also includes a speedometer, temperature gauge, and clock, to give the passenger a right to bark orders to the driver to go faster.

I then switched to the front seat, and found the big Maybach to be a completely different animal than the Rolls-Royces I had been driving the day before.  Where the Phantom and Ghost floated along the road (in the Ghost’s case, not as much), the Maybach grabs the tarmac and holds it close.  It’s no go-kart, but its reflexes are commendable for its massive weight.  The brakes feel very well-balanced, and nosedive is well-controlled.  Meanwhile, the view and the interior quality up front is the same as the rear–nothing to complain about, with everything engineered on a surgical level, and materials quality that would shame a palace.  That 630hp engine produces a smooth powerband, and the big sedan tugs off the line with nary a fuss–that sheer amount of torque comes on so smoothly that the engine feels completely unstrained at all times.  And all the while, not a sound is made–when I buried my right foot in the floormats, the engine made a small rumble, but little else permeated the cabin.

The Maybach is for a different sort of wealth than the Rolls-Royce, in that it is understated in its magnificence.  For about the same money as a Phantom, the Maybach speaks softly, yet offers owners a world of comfort and amenities unequaled by many.  A man who buys one of these will know the idea of “taste” but in a much different form than the Phantom–it still screams “I’m Rich”, but also says “I don’t have to show it constantly.”

-Al