Shifting Focus to the Driver: 2026 Mercedes-Maybach SL680 Monogram Series Driven

Yahoo

13-05-2025

For those of us whose splurges tend to be more outlet mall than oceanfront property, it can be hard to imagine a world where the regular old $188K Mercedes-AMG SL63 isn't a posh-enough droptop to demonstrate one's status. It's got an adjustable center screen, massaging seats, and Airscarf vents in the headrests. What else do you need, rose-gold details and a monogrammed hood? According to Mercedes-Maybach, which operates in a realm where the yachts have yachts and it's superfluous to say "private" before "island," the answer is yes, you need those precise things and more. The latest addition to its fleet of floaty, two-tone VIP carriers is the 2026 Mercedes-Maybach SL680, which offers everything we didn't realize was missing from the SL63. Namely, monograms.
It's a surprising choice to add a two-seat sports-car option to the long wheelbases and reclining rear seats of the current Maybach lineup, which has S-class, EQS, and GLS versions. Maybach is associated with high-end limousine service and chauffeured transport, making the SL an unexpected model in the lineup. Daniel Lescow, head of Mercedes-Maybach, says the decision to add a car more suited for self-driving (in the old-fashioned sense, not the autonomous one) came directly from customer feedback. The interest is there, Lescow says, and Maybach exists to meet the desires of the hoi oligoi.
In this case, Maybach soothed the savage beast of the AMG SL with a softened suspension, more sound deadening, and a dialed-back performance tune while amping up the visual impact with two-tone paint schemes and Maybach-specific design elements. The drivetrain remains physically unchanged from the nonhybrid SL63. It's the same twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 making 577 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque backed by a nine-speed automatic, all-wheel drive, and four-wheel steering. The drive modes and chassis tune are unique to Maybach, though, offering a plusher ride with less focus on high-speed lateral action and flag-drop finishes.
We've previously described the AMG SL cars as having "tough-guy-in-designer-duds styling." The Maybach SL is still well dressed and well muscled, but now it's less prone to losing its temper.
While the overall body of the Maybach SL is not radically different from the SL63's, it gets a different personality through a unique front end and Maybach-specific 21-inch forged wheels, in five-hole monoblock or spoked designs. Where the standard SL has a GT-like shark mouth flanked by wide air inlets, the Maybach fills its maw with delicate slats. Below is an open lower fascia that, on closer inspection, is composed of a mesh of interlocking Maybach logos. The Maybach pattern will be a recurring theme around the car. From the fabric top to the optional printed pattern on the hood, experiencing the Maybach SL is a bit like driving away in a high-end handbag. Even tiny details, like the coppery housings over the LED headlights or the chrome badges along the side, leave no opportunity to mistake this SL for anything but a Maybach.
While Maybach buyers will obviously have the chance to customize their SL through Mercedes's Manufaktur bespoke services, the debut SLs come in two ready-made Monogram Series specs, White Ambience and Red Ambience, which sound like opposing queens in an Alice in Wonderland adventure. We recommend not offing anyone's heads, however, since the only interior layout includes Crystal White nappa leather and fluffy white carpets. Truly, is there anything that screams "disposable income" more than white floor mats? You'd need a carpet cleaner on retainer. They can live on one of your yachts. Neither of the Monogram paint schemes is a subtle package, but then again, who buys a convertible (and a Maybach, for that matter) to blend in?
Inside, Maybach removed the SL's tiny rear seats in favor of a leather-covered package tray. The front seats remain in the same location, so there's no major increase in legroom, but the change makes the interior less cluttered, so we suppose you could claim that it offers some additional mental space. The remaining front seats are softer than in the Mercedes version, with additional padding in the backrest and the bottom cushion. It's noticeable and appreciated, especially on the roads around Ibiza, Spain, where the only thing more popular than a sick beat was a speed bump. Not that too many of those bumps made their way through the retuned suspension of the SL680. Maybach sacrificed some of the road-hugging sharpness of the SL63 in favor of road-absorbing comfort, with a decrease in camber, revalved dampers, softer springs front and rear, and increased cushioning around the suspension mounting points to soak up vibrations before they reach the cabin.
Maybach's drive modes are comfort focused as well, with relaxed steering feel and even some luxury lag in throttle input—but only in Maybach mode. In Sport mode, the adaptive dampers tighten up, the steering quickens, and the throttle offers instant response, although Maybach claims that the SL680's Sport mode is still softer than even the Comfort mode in the SL63. These changes—plus the additional weight of the SL680's sound deadening and rose-gold details—should add close to a second to the 3.0-second 60-mph time we got from the SL63. Since this is your island-only car, there are surely plenty of track monsters in your mainland garage.
It may be off-brand to admit it, but there were things we liked better about the softened-up SL. In the user-configurable Individual mode, with Sport's responsive throttle and Maybach's relaxed suspension setup, the SL680 swooshed around corners with none of the jitters or sidestepping of its more athletic competitors. It's almost a forgotten pleasure, to go fast without feeling every pavement imperfection drummed up your spinal column. If this is luxury, we like it. Certainly, it's a delight from the right seat, where a harsh ride feels worse when there's no driving task to distract. Passenger princes and princesses will be suggesting the Maybach for all outings.
So what's the downside to Maybaching it up? Well, there's the price, which, while not currently available, is likely to be considerably more than the AMG SL63's $188,300. On that note, should Maybach have done more? While we loved the cushioned ride, are a flashy hood and softer springs enough to differentiate the Maybach SL680 from the AMG SL63?
In some ways, the buyer gets less for more—no rear seat, less impressive performance numbers, likely a paltry 15-mpg EPA combined fuel-economy rating—and none of the specialty features of the larger Maybach offerings. With no rear seat or extended cabin, there's no place to showcase a reclining lounge seat or a refrigerated wine cooler. The niceties of the Maybach SL are shared with the Mercedes SL. A warming Airscarf from the headrest, massaging seats, a convertible top that can be raised or lowered in 15 seconds, a center touchscreen that can be tilted to avoid glare—all are fabulous conveniences, but none of them are unique to the Maybach. One wonders whether the Maybach buyer might simply opt for the top-of-the-line SL63 S E Performance plug-in hybrid and consider that enough.
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