What's all this about?
It's an even more luxurious version of a more luxurious version of a very luxurious car, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
Eh? I'm confused.
Well, the Maybach name - revived by Mercedes in 1997, killed off again in 2013, then tagged on to the main brand to create Mercedes-Maybach, a super-luxury arm of the Stuttgart manufacturer - is now supplemented by Pullman, a badge found most memorably on the Mercedes-Benz 600 of 50 years past.
Which gives us...?
The Mercedes-Maybach S 600 Pullman, a 6.5-metre long monster that takes opulence to a whole new level.
How much bigger is it than the 'normal' Mercedes-Maybach S-Class?
It is 1,053mm longer, more than 100mm taller (for better headroom) and has a gigantic 4,418mm wheelbase. All this allows for a passenger compartment of the highest standards.
Tell me more about that.
Two passengers can travel in the back in utmost splendour, with executive seats that adjust every which way but loose. But should another two passengers care to join them, two rear-facing folding seats allow for 'vis-à-vis' conference seating, something totally true to the Pullman name. Naturally, the car is equipped with pretty much every convenience item of equipment you could imagine, with infinite individualisation possible for the discerning customers who will buy it.
How much power does it take to shift all this magubbins?
The Mercedes-Maybach S 600 Pullman has a 6.0-litre biturbo V12 engine making 530hp and a massive 830Nm from just 1,900rpm. No word on performance data (likely to be pretty impressive) or the green figures (likely to be pretty poor) as yet.
And how much will all this cost me?
Unarmoured models start at around €500,000 (about £371,000, at current exchange rates), with customers taking first deliveries in early 2016. The Mercedes-Maybach S 600 Pullman will debut in Geneva in early March.
Matt Robinson - 17 Feb 2015