Mercedes-Benz hasn’t made much hay with its EQ Power line of plug-in hybrid powertrains in the U.S. market, most recently lobbing batteries at the short-lived GLC 350e and the S 560e and introducing the 2024 GLE 400e 4Matic. The dual-power motivations are bigger deals in other markets, hence the introduction of the Mercedes-Maybach S 580e. Maybach’s first PHEV is the rebranded and more luxurious version of the Mercedes-Benz S 580e that launched in July 2021. As with the previous car, the telltale is the charge port on the driver’s side rear fender. You’d need to know your S-Classes well, because the charge port mirrors the fuel filler door on the passenger’s side rear fender.
The superluxe sedan begins the upscale brand’s path to electrification, the first battery-electric Maybach due late this year or early next. As a bit of badge engineering, we’re familiar with the specs. There’s a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six under the hood that by itself makes 362 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. The electric sidekick is a single e-motor making 148 hp and 325 lb-ft, making the combined powertrain rating 503 hp and 553 lb-ft. The roughly 5,250-pound four-door gets from zero to 62 miles per hour in 5.1 seconds and can reach a top speed of 155 miles per hour when using both the ICE and electric hearts. In pure electric mode, the 28-kWh battery pack can provide 62 miles of silent going and reach a top speed of 87 mph. It’s possible to refill the pack in 30 minutes at a 60-kW DC charger, otherwise, the onboard 11-kW onboard charger must suffice.
There’s only a rear-drive version for now. However, since Mercedes launched the S 580e 4Matic five months after the pusher version of that car, it makes sense to believe the Maybach S 580e 4Matic isn’t far away. Since we still don’t have the hybrid S-Class, though, the chances of us getting this seem remote.
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