2026 Preview: Mercedes-Benz V-Class Electric Grand Limousine

Forbes

3 days ago

'Sabrina' might be due for another remake with Sabrina's father, Mr. Fairchild, serving as chauffeur of a Mercedes-Benz VLE Grand Limousine.
In this remake, Sabrina might not live in the servant quarters above the garage on the Larrabee Long Island estate, but instead in coastal California. No place on earth better suits the talents and requirements of electric vehicles: considerable wealth, perfect weather, evolved infrastructure, and the wellspring of the world's technocratic culture.
Production versions of the Vision V show property seen here will arrive in Europe in 2026, with the U.S. and world markets following soon after.
Having spent a morning around the battery-electric Vision V last week for a one-on-one tour, I must argue that photos don't do justice. VLE and the even larger VLS production versions will be ultra-luxe chauffeur-driven pods that can serve as mobile command centers.
Or when traffic in Los Angeles or Shanghai is heavy and the Webex meetings concluded, VLE can be a cocoon for deep relaxation. 'Fairchild, take me home.'
Mercedes VLE and VLS will not be retro limousines, attempting to recapture the sensibilities of 100 years ago. Instead, they are engineered to meet the demands of a different century.
Cubist structure of a van with limited overhangs and a short, steeply raked front hood maximizes comfort inside, and practicality when navigating urban centers. Instead of the driver and body man up front wondering about the actual endpoint of a car with an insanely long hood and poor man-machine relationship, VLE and VLS should prove easy to put right on the money, just like with their smaller cousin, the Maybach-Mercedes EQS 680.
Recently two VLE engineering development vehicles wrapped in camo traveled from Mercedes headquarters in Stuttgart to Rome, crossing the Alps. They traveled by autobahn and autostrada, and the scenic 2-lanes a tourist might prefer. Covering nearly 680 miles, the two product-intent vehicles only stopped twice for 15-minute rapid recharge sessions.
Like virtually all German electric vehicles, the VLE and VLS have an 800-Volt architecture that can fully exploit rapid charging systems. Charging from 20 percent to more than 80 percent will not take too long, as proven on the journey to Rome.
Like all Mercedes, Maybach and AMG electric vehicles, the batteries are slung down low, under the floor and between the two axles to lower the center of gravity and enhance vehicle balance.
VLE and VLS will be front-wheel drive, and will likely offer an upgrade to electric 4MATIC, placing an electric motor at the rear axle. Because V-class limos will not be high-performance supercars like upcoming electrics from Mercedes-AMG, VLE and VLS will not have a 2-speed gearbox built in-unit with a rear motor.
A vehicle of this sort will spend most of its service life at legal speeds. Product planning emphasis is on electric-smooth effortless acceleration at boulevard and legal highway speeds.
Rear-wheel steer will be a part of the story, as it is in the Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 electric limo and Mercedes EQS. Mercedes would not confirm the number of degrees but V-class can accomplish U-turns and 3-point turns in very tight quarters. I found the Maybach EQS 680's nimble nature revelatory in tight quarters typical of urban California, with 10 degrees of rear-steer.
VLE's man-machine relationship and suspension should allow a chauffeur to put it right on the money in parking maneuvers, on spiral ramps in parking garages like those at LA's Disney Hall, navigating the alleyways of Old Los Angeles, and in cut-and-thrust boulevard traffic.
Which leads to the technical issues Mercedes would not discuss, which leads to conjecture. To ensure a plush ride, V-class may have Mercedes air springing paired with double wishbone or multi-link suspension similar to that found in the EQS Mercedes and Maybach 680.
And I'd also guess at least the 10 degrees of rear-wheel steering found in the EQS. But that's just my guesswork based on experience with a wide range of Mercedes subsystems. Time will tell.
Back to that wished-for 'Sabrina' remake. It's been 30 years since Sydney Pollack put Harrison Ford opposite Julia Ormond in 'Sabrina,' and 71 years since Humphrey Bogart fell for Audrey Hepburn's charms. Perhaps Mackenzie Foy is mature enough for the lead role. All that pixie water nymph appeal.
Not sure any of the current Hollywood Marvel Comic cut-outs can wear the Homburg hat of Humphrey Bogart or Harrison Ford. But Mercedes V-class electric limousines stand at the ready, a brilliant update to the chauffeured limousines that in decades past carried the Larrabees from Long Island to Manhattan and back.