2018 Mercedes-Maybach Pullman: 21-Plus-Feet of the Best Money Can Buy

What It Is

The luxurious Maybach S600 put onto the rack, stretched to more than 21 feet long, stuffed with enough extravagant trimmings to choke a Trump, and proffered for the pleasure of the one-hundredth of one-percenters. Notable features include a pair of emperor-class executive rear seats; jump seats for aides-de-camp, bodyguards, or mere hangers-on; an audio system tuned specifically to the ear of the buyer; and Magic Chauffeur Control, a glass partition that can be lowered or made opaque at the press of a button.

Why It Matters

To you? It doesn’t. To its owners, though, the Pullman is proof that they really are better than the rest of us. And to Mercedes, it serves as evidence that the brand, having tripped over its own champagne magnum with its previous Maybach experiment, can deliver a hyperluxury bolide to compete with Rolls-Royce. Also, the Pullman name was just sitting around collecting dust.

Platform

Somewhere under all the splendiferousness lie the W222 bones of the current S-class, but with a prom-limo 173.9-inch wheelbase that is more than four feet longer than that of an S550 sedan.

Powertrain

Contrary to rumor, the Pullman does not come with a complement of galley slaves. Rather, motivation comes from a hulking 6.0-liter V-12 strapped with two turbochargers and good for 523 horsepower and 612 pound-feet of torque.

Competition

Bentley Mulsanne, Rolls-Royce Phantom, the war elephants of Genghis Khan.

What Might Go Wrong

The usual things: revolution, the return of the guillotine, world peace, a doubling of the capital-gains tax, the restoration of Glass-Steagall.

Estimated Arrival and Price

U.S. sales (if they happen) are at least a couple of  years out, but the first cars will be delivered elsewhere in early 2016. Prices start at nearly $600K for unarmored models, not that you would need to ask or anything.