Photo: Mercedes-Maybach
Over in the United States and back home in Germany, the Z223 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class generation is available with a bi-turbo V8 engine. Twelve cylinders are in the pipeline as well, marking the last hurrah of the M279 previously used in the S 650.
As for the Chinese market, which has more billionaires than the U.S. or Europe, the Stuttgart-based automaker decided on a straight-six powerplant. If you’re curious about this decision, it should be highlighted that China slaps heavy taxes on larger powerplants.
A 3.0-liter engine, therefore, is perfect for the Middle Kingdom, although questionable for such a large and luxurious vehicle. 480 is how Mercedes-Maybach calls this variant, which can accelerate to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) in merely 5.8 seconds thanks to 4Matic all-wheel drive.
The configurator also lists 270 kilowatts and 500 newton meters of torque, which convert to 362 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque from 1,600 to 4,000 rpm. In other words, it’s the same lump that Mercedes-Benz utilizes in the S 450 4Matic. The Maybach-branded luxobarge also boasts EQ Boost, which is a pompous way of saying electrically-driven supercharger.
The EQ Boost system further comprises a 48-volt electrical architecture, an integrated starter/generator unit that replaces the alternator, and a turbocharger located upstream of the supercharger. Sharing the modular design with Mercedes’ four-cylinder and eight-cylinder mills, the M256 makes do without the traditional accessory drive at the front of the engine.
Priced at 1,480,000 yuan or $228,220 at current exchange rates, the S 480 4Matic is pictured on the Chinese build-your-own tool with five-spoke wheels and lots of bright-chrome trim pieces for the exterior. The interior, meanwhile, is a combination of leather upholstery and wood veneer plus high-tech stuff such as the large touchscreen and digital instrument cluster.
The Maybach-branded luxobarge is certain to sell by the bucketload in the People’s Republic based on Mercedes’s results for the 2020 calendar year. Despite a 7.5-percent decline in worldwide sales, Chinese-market sales grew by 11.7 percent according to parent company Daimler AG.
A 3.0-liter engine, therefore, is perfect for the Middle Kingdom, although questionable for such a large and luxurious vehicle. 480 is how Mercedes-Maybach calls this variant, which can accelerate to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) in merely 5.8 seconds thanks to 4Matic all-wheel drive.
The configurator also lists 270 kilowatts and 500 newton meters of torque, which convert to 362 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque from 1,600 to 4,000 rpm. In other words, it’s the same lump that Mercedes-Benz utilizes in the S 450 4Matic. The Maybach-branded luxobarge also boasts EQ Boost, which is a pompous way of saying electrically-driven supercharger.
The EQ Boost system further comprises a 48-volt electrical architecture, an integrated starter/generator unit that replaces the alternator, and a turbocharger located upstream of the supercharger. Sharing the modular design with Mercedes’ four-cylinder and eight-cylinder mills, the M256 makes do without the traditional accessory drive at the front of the engine.
Priced at 1,480,000 yuan or $228,220 at current exchange rates, the S 480 4Matic is pictured on the Chinese build-your-own tool with five-spoke wheels and lots of bright-chrome trim pieces for the exterior. The interior, meanwhile, is a combination of leather upholstery and wood veneer plus high-tech stuff such as the large touchscreen and digital instrument cluster.
The Maybach-branded luxobarge is certain to sell by the bucketload in the People’s Republic based on Mercedes’s results for the 2020 calendar year. Despite a 7.5-percent decline in worldwide sales, Chinese-market sales grew by 11.7 percent according to parent company Daimler AG.
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