A TALE OF TWO SLS

It was one of those Sundays. Even before I headed off the sun gently kissed the grass tips as it popped up, the fresh breeze full of promise. It got better as I pulled up. How porno was this! Waiting diligently, a pair of Monogram Series Mercedes-Maybach SL 680s and two AMG SL 63s glistened in the sun, cooled as it was, by the gentle sea breeze. The former, a Liberace white version with flying saucer wheels and a red so ruby through my Ray-Ban polarization it may have been Mars. It had giant multi-spoke alloys.

The detail is astounding. Little monogram Maybach notifications where you need them, the M badge pattern perfectly in sync as it crosses from leather to metal and softer stuff too. Maybach is of course on another level altogether. Think the Riva on Lake Como, the Challenger in the hangar and the dearest real estate money can buy.

The latter pair had one in that similar ruby. Or is it Mazda red. The other was battleship grey. That’s getting on a bit. Too much Chinese junk wearing it to be different anymore. The real beauty? How polar this bespoke AMG is to its Liberace mate. More of a Schwarzenegger stagger. It gargles thunder and disrupts the fast approaching horizon. Yes, I will be back!

The purpose of the jolly was to adequately demonstrate two totally Teutonic titans that are actually coupled at the tote under the skin. But what it did, was to show just how different they really are. Shifting the Maybach ethos from chauffeured opulence to boulevard cruising with a bite if you want it, the Mercedes-Maybach SL 680 Monogram Series is its first bath. Well that’s what Ferrari calls these cars. Barchetta, for little bath.

Truth be told, the Maybach SL is simply a R232 Mercedes-AMG SL 63 in drag, Its Affalterbach thuggery dismantled to veil the AMG’s sharp aggression for a refined touring environment. Propelled by the same 430 kW 800 Nm classic Mercedes hot-inside-vee 4-litre biturbo V8, it’s quite misleading 680 badge as nothing to do with anything in the car. Its rather a nod to the classic Maybach V12s of yore.

The Maybach runs a  9G-Tronic automatic turning Benz’ with fully variable 4Matic+ all-wheel drive with active rear-axle steering it has active ride control with hydraulic roll stabilisation and an alphabet of gizmos lurking in its very own cyberspace.

The Maybach stands apart by Liberace soft adaptive damper profiles, tranquil throttle mapping, plush engine mounts and silence. The 680 tosses AMG's hoodlum Race and aggro launch modes for a dedicated Maybach  set-up perfected toward seamless, imperceptible shifts and tender take-offs. Still, old Liberace’s been training with Arnold. Its fast. Very fast at a claimed 4.1 seconds to 100 km/h and top end curbed  260 km/h.

They officially call these two combos Red and White Ambience with Obsidian Black contrasts. The Maybach chrome slatted grille, traditional Merc bonnet star, rose gold headlight detailing, hundreds of double-M logos and many badges set it apart. Crystal white exclusive nappa leather clad, the inner sanctum has silver-chrome trim, galvanised finishes under its acoustic-optimised sound-deadened fabric soft top 

The big Maybach take-away after a couple of hundred kilometres at the wheel, is that  it genuinely returns to the sort of plush ride one expects from the badge. Rather than just plastering it with leather, chrome and badges. Stepping straight onto the AMG clearly illustrates how well Benz has exorcized that car’s pointed, brittle demeanour.

Its endowed the 680 with a far quieter with a far more genteel, supple gait in its default and Maybach modes. It certainly is an effortless coast-road cruiser and it matters little if Schwarzenegger cannot get his swagger. Its right there waiting for him in the AMG, anyway. And yes, I’m arrogant. I’d have preferred a V12. Especially with that 680 promise. But reading between the lines, the dirty dozen may well soon make a return.

Of course, the never-hads will bicker and criticise this car. But then they will never have one, so it does it matter? The white only leather choice may not suit all tastes. Red would be cool on white too, Maybach. And like all modern Mercs, it also suffers those decrepit buttonless MBUX touch controls. Surely a Maybach deserves knobs?

Still, the Maybach the SL 680 does a brilliant job in moving away from simulated circuit lap times, brash noise, bravado and the cap on back to front. It genuinely embraces the relaxed, sun-drenched cruising dream that defines Maybach history as much as it does those majestic SL grand tourers.

So, with that done and dusted, what about the SL with, brash noise and bravado ready to deliver the dude with his cap on back to front those simulated circuit lap times? Well, while it may be difficult to accept that it’s identical under the skin, the AMG version represents its own radical philosophical reset for the modern Sport-Leicht. 

Entirely engineered by Mercedes-AMG in Affalterbach For the first time seventy years of SL, it also shares its heart with the second-generation AMG GT Coupe. The AMG gets a Speedshift MCT 9G with a wet multi-plate start-off clutch instead of the Maybach’s slush box, and fully variable AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive with electronic rear limited-slip differential, AMG active ride control and active rear-axle steering.

Sharper, crisper and faster than the Liberace version, the Schwarzenegger runs to 100 in 3.6 seconds and a far better representative 315 km/h top end. A huge great character of a car, it pulls like a freight train to an intoxicating, unadulterated racket that’s now able to properly translate its immense grunt via all-wheel drive traction. Some will say it’s too stiff to cruise, too heavy to dance. Yes, it can be  firm and fidgety in Comfort mode. If you don’t want all that, just go buy the Maybach.

So yes, there’s definitely a lot of black and white, ying and yan, ching and chang here. But that’s the whole point, isn’t it? The wholly unapologetic open-top boulevard cruiser Maybach SL 680 is actually the total antithesis of the arrogant, aggressive, gruff AMG sports roadster. 

At the end of the day, the real target market that these cars appeal to, will probably buy both. A kind of a his and hers deal, you know? So who are us normal mortals to  comment. Besides to report that diving both back to back was a blast and a great privilege, anyway? - Michele Lupini