Benz moots Maybach, drop-top, wagon for S-Class family

The gob-smacking new S-Class coupe has only just made its debut at Geneva, yet Mercedes-Benz has confirmed there’s still more to come in the S-Class line, including a revival of the Maybach name for a Pullman-style, mega-luxury range-topper.

Talking to Australian media, Mercedes-Benz head of global sales and marketing Ola Kallenius said the forthcoming S-Class portfolio would be “as wide as it has ever been”, with the number of variants totalling “six models, of which we have presented three [short- and long-wheelbase S-Class sedan, S-Class coupe], and hinted at the fourth”.

That fourth model is the S-Class convertible, previewed as the Concept Ocean Drive at Detroit way back in 2007, though unlike that four-door concept the production S-Class drop-top will be a two-door similar to the S-Class coupe it will be derived from. Given the new coupe’s smaller boot (100 litres less than the previous CL’s to reduce rear overhang and butch-up the styling), the forthcoming S-Class convertible will feature a packaging-friendly fabric roof, just like the last S-Class convertible that ceased production in 1971.

As for the extra models, S-Class chief engineer Dr Hermann-Joseph Storp confirmed “we will have an S-Class Maybach version … the rest may be station wagon, convertible, what you can imagine … a station wagon is good for families, no?”

True to engineer form, Dr Storp candidly let slip that what he calls the “Putin Edition” will feature the Maybach name, but that the level of Maybach branding would simply be “initials” – the flagship will remain first and foremost an S-Class.

Dr Storp’s mention of an S-Class station wagon hints at the possibility of a shooting brake version, though the company is reportedly unsure as to whether an S-Class wagon has legs.