When building a luxury vehicle that's meant for chauffeuring duty, it's only job is to provide the utmost luxury for its passengers. So, I thought.
It turns out Mercedes-Benz must have a different idea in its galactic wisdom. That's because the Maybach replacement, the all-new S-Class Pullman, was recently spotted making its way around the world famous Nürburgring race track.
Although this may seem completely ridiculous on the surface, the reality is that limousines actually do need to be quick and responsive just as any other vehicle would be. Think of it this way: if the Pullman is tasked with hauling a head of state and there's an assassination attempt, you'll want to make like a bread truck and haul buns.
Of course that will entail a vehicle that has a powerful motor and some snappy reflexes to avoid the occasional old bag that's pushing a baby stroller across a busy street. I mean, that's what happens in the movies, right?
**To see a ridiculously luxurious vehicle tackle the 'Ring, check out the clip below!
On Tuesday the 13th of May we spied this long wheel base Mercedes-Benz S-class testing on the Nürbrugring Nordschleife. According to rumours the Maybach moniker may recur on this extra-long S-class. It may even be that Maybach will be a sub-brand from Mercedes like AMG is. The car on the track is believed to be an S500. The blue one that was spied outside the Mercedes test-centre near the Nürburgring and which can be seen at the end of the video is an S600. Remarkable detail on this one is that the logo that is disguised on the back of the car is not round as would be expected with a Mercedes badge. Perhaps the Maybach moniker will have a new logo that has an oval shape?