2009 Maybach 57 S Only 23k Miles Just Serviced! Celebrity Owned Up on 2040-cars

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Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #258 LIVE

We record Episode #258 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and you can drop us your questions via our Q&A module below. Check out our discussion topics or chime in to help determine what else the crew chats about this evening. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #258
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Mercedes S-Class Maybach spotted on the 'Ring?

It used to be that if you wanted a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, your choice pretty much came down to which engine you wanted, and that was that. But into the new S-Class, Mercedes is integrating several other model lines and extending its flagship family (both literally and figuratively) as far as it will stretch.
In addition to the sedan (already available in two wheelbase lengths in certain markets, in only the longer one in ours) Mercedes is already offering the new S-Class coupe and will soon launch a convertible version as well. But that's the end of the story. Not even close. Soon it will launch two ultra-luxurious, extended-wheelbase models: one called the Maybach and one called the Pullman. It's the former which we appear to have here in this latest spy video from the Nürburgring.
Replacing the previous Maybach 57, the new S-Class Maybach is expected to be based on the S65 AMG, keeping its 621-horsepower twin-turbo V12 but adding more space in the back (as evidenced by the modified C-pillar and rear side glass) and even more upscale accommodations. That will make it even heftier as well, but as you can see from this clip, Benz is keen to keep it handling on an even keel. Expect the new Maybach to arrive sometime next year, with the Pullman to follow in the place of the previous Maybach 62.

The most or nothing: Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet pushes the luxury limits

After the introduction of the Mercedes-AMG GT Roadster at the Paris Motor Show this fall, we informed you that Mercedes-Benz has a convertible conundrum, a surplus of drop-tops that seemingly threatens to self-cannibalize within the brand's ever-proliferating lineup. Benz's head of design, Gorden Wagener, who spends much of his time in Southern California, argues it's not a problem: Each convertible, in its ideal construction, would intrinsically vanquish any issues. "The bad is the enemy of the good," he said, not exactly quoting Nietzsche. Now, the three-pointed star brand has upped the top-down ante, with the unveiling this week at the Los Angeles auto show of the Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet, a vehicle so opulent, it sits in price and position atop the uber-luxury brand's current top-of-the-line offering, the $247,900 Mercedes-AMG S65 Cabriolet. View 24 Photos "Mercedes-AMG is our performance brand so it's all about performance stuff," says Wagener in a one-on-one interview on the roof of a Beverly Hills mansion just before the new car is unveiled. "Of course, Maybach has power, too, but it's the ultimate in luxury. So it's more on that side. And for me in the interior, it's the haute couture of the automobile, so we tried to up that a little more with details. And on the exterior, it's a more superb appearance up front, more chrome, more rich, and of course we tried to up that branding even more. The S-Class is the best car in the world, we consider, I always thought we could raise the Mercedes brand. And it's the same with the S convertible." Why does Mercedes-Benz need a flagship atop its flagship? Because, when climbing the mountain of automotive luxury there is always the customer who, when he or she reaches the pinnacle, wants more. A car brand, especially one with deep pockets and luxurious heritage like Mercedes, can always further gild the automotive lilies, creating a step up for those for whom the brand's motto, The Best or Nothing, is a literal life credo. "It's always our job to make it better," Wagener says. "Each little detail, the wood, the wood under cover of the cabriolet, the leathers. All the super luxury details that make a luxury car into a super luxury car. The key is to make a modern luxury design and not a traditional luxury design. There is definitely a market for traditional luxury, but we always wanted to have Mercedes, Maybach in particular, as a modern luxury car.