Maybach's New Flagship Lights Up Its Own Badge and Massages Your Calves

Maybach spent this update on the things you notice from thirty feet away and from the second row. The engine got stronger too, but that's almost the side story.

The headline feature on Maybach's new flagship is, essentially, a light fixture. The 2027 Mercedes-Maybach GLS 680 arrived on July 20, 2026 with an illuminated surround framing its pinstriped grille, a Maybach badge that lights up, and a hood star that can be optioned to do the same. Mercedes says the standing star has never been lit on a Maybach SUV before.

Switch the lights off and what's left is a mid-cycle refresh of the GLS-based Maybach rather than a clean-sheet car. The name changed, though, and the name is where the story sits: GLS 600 becomes GLS 680, and the number tracks a real bump in output. US sales start later this year.

603 horsepower, and the badge math behind it

Mercedes rates the new car at 603 hp and 627 lb-ft, and describes the engine as an electrified V8 biturbo paired with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system whose starter-generator kicks in an additional 23 hp when you ask for it. One gap in the paperwork: Mercedes' own US page never publishes a displacement figure. Early coverage of the reveal consistently calls it a 4.0-liter, and that matches the architecture Mercedes has used here for years, but treat the number as reported rather than as something the automaker put in writing.

Mercedes also didn't frame the update as a horsepower gain, so the comparison is ours to run. The outgoing GLS 600 made 550 hp and 538 lb-ft, which puts the 680 roughly 53 hp and 89 lb-ft ahead of the car it replaces. No 0-60 or 0-100 km/h claim has been published, so any number you see floating around is somebody's estimate.

Where the numbers land

Model	Horsepower	Torque
Maybach GLS 600Outgoing, V8 biturbo	550 hp	538 lb-ft
Maybach GLS 680Electrified V8 biturbo, 48V	603 hp	627 lb-ft

The 603 hp and 627 lb-ft figures come from Mercedes. The gap between the two cars is our own arithmetic, not a Mercedes claim. Displacement is not listed on the official US page.

The wheels, and why the star stays upright

This is the part our readers usually skip ahead to, and it carries the thinnest paperwork of anything on the car: none of it appears on Mercedes' official US page. According to coverage from the reveal, the GLS 680 rides on 22-inch wheels as standard, in a 20-hole pattern, with 23-inch forged wheels available. The forged option reportedly uses a ball-bearing center cap so the Maybach star stays vertical wherever the wheel happens to stop turning. Other luxury brands have played with the same trick. On a car whose whole pitch is standing still gracefully, it earns its keep. Since Mercedes hasn't confirmed the sizes itself, hold them loosely until the configurator goes live.

Second row first

Mercedes confirms upgraded multicontour seating with vibrating massage programs. Reports from the debut add a calf-rest massage for the rear executive seats, which would be a first for this car if it holds up. Rose Gold turns up in the official material as an accent inside the new twin-star DIGITAL LIGHT headlamps; several outlets also describe Rose Gold instrument dials and illuminated outer air vents in the cabin, though the coverage isn't unanimous on the vents. File both as reported.

The confirmed cabin hardware is easier to pin down. MBUX Superscreen runs on MB.OS with AI assistance built in. Burmester 3D Surround Sound with Dolby Atmos comes standard rather than as an upsell. Two wireless charging pads live in the back, a refrigerated compartment is optional, and rear-seat entertainment adds a pair of 11.6-inch screens. Airmatic air suspension is standard, with E-Active Body Control available for buyers who want the body motions ironed out more aggressively.

Price and timing

Mercedes hasn't announced pricing. The company says only that the GLS 680 reaches US customers later this year, with no month attached. For scale, the outgoing Maybach GLS 600 opened around $181,350 with destination. That's the old car's window sticker, a reference point for the segment rather than a forecast for this one. The real number should surface closer to launch.