Performance and luxury have traditionally meshed well under the Mercedes-Benz banner, but that relationship is only fruitful to a point.
Eventually, if you start taking too much from both sides, you’re left with something that does some things well, but nothing exceptionally. In the case of Maybach and AMG, perhaps a little separation is better for everyone.
Mercedes’ S-Class development director Dr. Hermann-Joseph Storp recently told the U.K.’s Car Magazine that you won’t be seeing an AMG-Maybach crossover any time soon, confirming that the sub-brands will remain exclusive and largely independent of each other.
As cool as a high-performance executive limo sounds, Storp’s comments start to make sense when you actually imagine the hypothetical vehicle. An AMG’s stiff suspension is bred for the smooth track, not the bumpy road, and a sub-4.0-second 0 to 60 mph time could cause the Maybach S600’s silver-plated champagne flutes to spill onto the Nappa leather.
It also begs the question: where would you put all the badges? Mercedes-Maybach-AMG S-Class is quite the handful, and that makes for a cluttered rear end.
Furthermore, the customer base for both brands is entirely different. A Maybach customer wants to ride in comfort and style, with a cabin so quiet that even the loudest squeals of the proletariat won’t penetrate the hand-stitched door trim.
An AMG customer, by contrast, wants to shred rubber.
That’s not to say that an AMG car can’t be comfortable, and a Maybach won’t have some grunt when you need it. It’s doubtful that anyone would scoff at the G63 AMG’s ‘G-Wagen’ interior, or call the 6.0-liter, 523-horsepower biturbo V12 from the aforementioned S600 overly weak.
These are Mercedes-Benz vehicles after all.
