Maybach 62S (2007) CAR review

What’s this – more power for the plutocrats?

In a word, yes. The £341,585 Maybach 62S - the S stands for Special, should you be wondering – gets the same mighty 6.0-litre twin turbo V12 as last year’s 52S, which dishes up a barely believable 612bhp at a very low 4800rpm. The torque figure is even more impressive – between 2000-4000rpm there’s a massive 738lb ft on tap. As well as the bonus 74lb ft and 45bhp, your extra £81,085 pays for bigger 19-inch alloys shod with Michelin run-flats, revised front and rear aprons, a raft of minor style changes, a solid paintjob (no more eye-watering two-toners at last) and some mightily impressive chunky exhausts pipes.

Just what the world needs – a sporty limousine

Yes, it hardly makes sense, does it? You get the feeling that Mercedes is thinking of anything and everything it can to boost Maybach’s could-do-better sales figures. When it was launched in 2002 there was rash talk of 1000 sales a year – a long way off the average annual figure of 400 the company is currently achieving. Particularly when Rolls-Royce is shifting around 800 Phantoms a year.