The name Maybach has always promised one thing above all: an engine too grand to be practical. For decades that meant twelve cylinders, whisper-quiet and seemingly bottomless. Today that promise is kept in only one place. Step outside the United States, and the soloist has been replaced by a very capable understudy.
A Name That Still Sings Solo
Germany barely registers as a market for Maybach. The real buyers sit in Beijing, Shanghai, Dubai and across the United States, and it is that geography which decided the V12’s fate. Tightening Euro 7 emissions rules pushed the twelve-cylinder M279 engine out of the European S 680 entirely, even though the badge on the boot lid never changed.
In America, though, the V12 lives on, offered at a base price of around US$244,000. There is no euro price to quote, because the car simply is not sold that way here: this is a US-market figure only, for a US-market engine.
Two Engines, One Verdict
Mercedes insists nothing has been lost. The V8 hybrid that now powers every European Maybach S 680 produces exactly the same 450 kW (612 PS) as the old V12, aided by a 17 kW (23 PS) electric motor that sharpens the car’s step off the line. Officially, the V8 is even quicker than its predecessor.
Drive the two back to back and the difference is genuinely hard to find: both glide the near 2.5-tonne saloon to 250 km/h, both cover 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds, and both are hushed to the point of eeriness. The twelve-cylinder’s only remaining European address is the armoured S 680 Guard, a niche within a niche. Everywhere else on the continent, the V8 hybrid is the whole story now.
Chauffeured or Self-Driven, Depending on the Postcode
How this car gets used varies wildly by market, and that shapes how each version is judged. In China, plenty of owners are content being driven around in a Maybach fitted with a modest six-cylinder engine, sound and comfort mattering more than swagger under the bonnet. American owners behave differently. Many climb behind the wheel of this 5.48-metre car themselves, and for them the V12’s soft, layered surge of power is very much the point, not an afterthought handled by a driver in the front.
On the move, the chassis does most of the impressing. The air suspension reads the road ahead rather than merely reacting to it, smoothing away imperfections before they arrive. Push harder on an open highway and an unexpectedly sporty character appears beneath all that isolation. Left alone, the S 680 is so quiet that, without the optional sound system dialled up to let the V12’s murmur through, you could easily mistake it for an electric car.
Inside: A Suite on Wheels
Wherever it is sold, the Maybach S 680’s cabin is built around near-total personalisation. The in-house „made to measure“ programme is limited mainly by what local registration rules allow, and covers everything from embroidered cushions and a built-in humidor to bespoke leather shades for the headliner or seats. Most owners are found in the rear right seat rather than up front, and the 3.40-metre wheelbase gives that seat real purpose: at the touch of a button it reclines into a proper lounger, complete with calf massage and kneading for the back.
Outside, this generation adds a few flourishes of its own, including a faint rose-gold tint worked into the headlights, a grille roughly 20 percent larger than before, and trim that can be lit up almost theatrically. American cars alone carry a discreet V12 emblem, a small badge doing a lot of signalling. Elsewhere the car leans a little too hard on its own logo, with Maybach lettering appearing more often than it needs to, and an odd second Mercedes star duplicated on both the nose and the steering wheel.
Verdict: A Soloist’s Farewell Encore
The Mercedes-Maybach S 680 V12 is, in truth, a car giving its final performance to an ever-narrower audience. Strengths: a genuinely serene ride, near-limitless personalisation, effortless real-world pace, and, in America, an engine with real character and history behind it. Weaknesses: a badge-heavy design that occasionally overplays its hand, a V12 that objectively does very little the newer V8 hybrid cannot match, and a price and availability that now belong to one market alone. As a soloist takes a final encore before the curtain falls, the V12 Maybach still hits every note perfectly. It just no longer plays outside America.
