Having revived the Maybach badge, killed it off again and then brought it back to life once more as a new luxury sub-brand, Mercedes-Maybach is now plucking another grandiose nameplate from the mists of history - the Pullman is back 50 years after it appeared on the Mercedes-Benz 600, and the 21st-century version will receive its full debut at the Geneva Motor Show.
Exterior
The goliath Mercedes-Maybach Pullman is 6,499mm long, which is more than a whole metre (1,053mm) bigger than the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class. That allows the Pullman to have a colossal 4,418mm wheelbase, which is longer than many entire hatchback cars, and the headroom is also increased by more than 100mm over the 'normal' Mercedes-Maybach S-Class to a 1,598mm total, to allow for top hats and the like no doubt.
Interior
That exterior naturally allows for one of the most sumptuous passenger cabins you'll find on modern cars. One of its tricks is that, if just two executives go in the back of this chauffeur-driven behemoth, they can luxuriate in massive, multifunctional chairs and enjoy acres of legroom. But to be true to its Pullman name, there are two fold-down seats that face backwards in there too, so that four passengers can sit face-to-face in the back. And presumably have some sort of important business meeting in the process. It has all been designed to shield the very rear-most passengers from view, and even to satisfy 'heads of state and monarchs for whom protocol dictates that they must take their places ahead of their interpreters'.
Naturally, the Pullman is swathed in leather within, the rear passengers have three dials in the roof lining to tell them the outside temperature, vehicle speed and time of day, there's an electrically-operated glass partition between the driver up front and anyone in the back, a Burmester high-end 3D surround sound system is incorporated and the Pullman can be customised to any buyer's highly individual preferences.
Mechanicals
Details so far are only for the top-of-the-range model, the Mercedes-Maybach Pullman S 600. Powered by a biturbo V12 engine of 5,980cc, it makes 530hp and 830Nm from just 1,900rpm. Mercedes-Maybach has given us no words on either performance or 'green' figures, however.
Anything else?
Although the Mercedes 600 Pullman is celebrating its 50th birthday in 2015, the name technically goes back even further at Mercedes to three 'Adenauer' Mercs built in 1960, as well as Pullman versions of the S-Class 109 and 126 special production cars, and the 140 and 220 standard production iterations. Customers will take first deliveries in early 2016.