Mercedes-Maybach SL spied as grand touring convertible goes even more upmarket

Maybach has been turning its hand to the upper echelons of the Mercedes range with the Maybach GLS, S-Class and EQS recently, but soon it’ll be the turn of the SL – and we’ve spotted it testing for the first time. 

Earlier this year, Mercedes-AMG teased what would be the beginning of its new, ultra-exclusive Mythos series with the Purespeed Concept. We can confirm, however, that the Maybach SL won’t be part of the Mythos brand, because the original teaser image for the Mythos series highlighted a sleek speedster-like profile, with sizeable humps behind the cabin. We can see from these spy pictures that the Maybach will opt for the SL’s standard body instead. 

That’s not to say the Maybach SL won’t look and feel premium, though. Despite the camouflage, we can see this car will get Maybach’s traditional design touches, such as intricate, multi-spoke wheels, a bigger grille and more subtle exhaust tips. A reshaped front bumper and side skirts are expected, as is a pronounced Maybach bonnet emblem. 

No charging flap is visible at the rear of this prototype, so we don’t expect the Maybach SL to come with the plug-in hybrid system of the Mercedes-AMG SL 63 E Performance. Instead we should see a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 with 577bhp. Pricing for the Mercedes-AMG SL 63 in Ultimate trim kicks off at £179,605, but we suspect the Maybach will easily eclipse the £198,345 price tag of the plug-in hybrid SL 63 S E Performance Ultimate. 

The interior should receive the same 12.3-inch digital driver display and an adjustable 11.9-inch infotainment screen in the centre console as the regular SL. The Maybach SL should still offer a more premium environment, however, thanks to a greater scope for customisation, including different materials and finishes. 

Maybach introduced a concept for its take on the EQS SUV in 2021 and in 2022 Mercedes’ Chief Design Officer Gorden Wagener posted a teaser image of the Maybach Concept SL. The Concept EQS SUV proved to be almost identical to the production model, so when the Concept SL is revealed, expect Maybach’s production version to follow it very closely. 

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