Mercedes-Maybach GLS 680 2027: new electrified V8 with 611 hp

Mercedes-Maybach has revealed the 2027 model year GLS 680, updating its flagship SUV with a more powerful electrified V8, a heavily reworked suspension system, a new digital architecture and an even more elaborate rear cabin. At the centre of the update sits the new M 177 Evo biturbo V8, now producing around 611 hp and 850 Nm of torque.

Since 2019, the Maybach GLS has sat at the very top of Mercedes Benz’s large SUV lineup, and the 2027 update touches every element that defines that positioning: exterior presence, rear seat comfort, sound insulation, material quality and overall smoothness on the road. The model is due to arrive in the United States before the end of 2026.

A reworked front end built around a dedicated maybach grille

The front of the car has been redesigned around a new grille specific to Mercedes-Maybach. Its perimeter is illuminated, and for the first time on the GLS, the Maybach lettering set within the grille can also glow discreetly. The lower air intakes carry a chrome finished Maybach pattern, while a dedicated underbody guard further separates the Maybach from standard Mercedes-Benz versions.

The vertically mounted three pointed star above the bonnet remains one of the model’s most traditional touches, and can now be specified with its own dedicated lighting. New Digital Light headlights feature a double star pattern with Rose Gold detailing and accent lighting that runs sideways into the grille, while a black panel visually links the headlights and grille into a single continuous surface across the front of the car. At the rear, a horizontal element ties the new light clusters together.

New two tone colours and 23 inch wheels

The Maybach two tone paint range grows with a new Dark Petrol and Verde Silver Metallic combination, splitting the upper and lower body into two coordinated shades. Dark Petrol is also available as a single colour, alongside the new Manufaktur Patagonia Red Metallic.

Among the available options are forged 23 inch Maybach wheels, whose hub caps carry a Mercedes Benz star engineered to stay upright even as the wheel spins, thanks to a precision bearing that separates the emblem’s movement from the wheel’s rotation. The standard specification uses a new 22 inch, 20 spoke design. Electric side steps are also standard, extending in under a second whenever a door opens to create a lower, easier step. The steps use anodised aluminium with black anti slip rubber inserts and a chrome Maybach emblem, lit by an LED strip at night that projects a Mercedes-Maybach pattern onto the ground before retracting once the doors are closed.

A Night Series design package is also available, replacing much of the chrome trim with Dark Chrome finishes, dark anodised side steps and seven spoke 23 inch wheels with Maybach patterned inserts, offered in combinations including Obsidian Black Metallic, Manufaktur Moonlight White Metallic, Moonlight White Magno, and a two tone Obsidian Black Metallic with Mojave Silver Metallic.

A cabin built around front and rear comfort in equal measure

Mercedes-Maybach continues to treat the front seats and second row as equally important, coordinating materials, lighting, climate control and audio to create a stronger sense of separation from the outside world. The 2027 GLS adds further insulating materials, additional massage functions and expanded personalisation options.

The dashboard is built around the new MBUX Superscreen as standard, placing three 12.3 inch displays under a single glass surface for the driver instruments, central display and front passenger screen. The Maybach specific instrument graphics use Rose Gold dials, a gold emblem between the two gauges and a background that blends gold, black and Rose Gold. The climate vents are visually integrated into the Superscreen’s glass surface, with the traditional louvre system replaced by small gondola like elements used to direct airflow.

The front multicontour seats gain a new massage programme built into the cushions, using controlled vibration to stimulate the lower body while driving, in addition to the existing back and side bolster adjustments. For the first time, the rear Executive seats extend massage functions down to the calf rests. An optional refrigerated compartment can be fitted between the two rear seats, hidden behind a glass door disguised with trim that matches the rest of the cabin when not in use.

New upholstery options include Nappa Maybach Exclusive Beech Brown with Macchiato Beige, bringing warmer, less contrasted tones than the traditional black or white interiors, alongside two new trims: open pore walnut wood and a High Gloss Silver Metallic mixed fabric. The updated Burmester 3D Surround Sound System with Dolby Atmos adds two further speakers to the rear of the cabin for a total of 15, powered by a 710 watt amplifier that extends sound distribution into the second row.

The new V8 M 177 Evo produces around 611 hp

The GLS 680’s engine is the latest evolution of the electrified biturbo M 177 V8, now delivering around 611 hp and 850 Nm of torque, an increase of roughly 54 hp and 121 Nm over the previous version. The unit integrates two new Lanchester balancer shafts, which generate opposing forces against specific vibrations created by the engine’s internal motion, reducing the oscillation transmitted to the body, steering wheel and seats for a smoother feeling drive.

The V8 is paired with a second generation integrated starter generator, part of a 48 volt mild hybrid system capable of delivering roughly 23 hp of temporary boost. The unit smooths out power delivery, recovers energy under deceleration and helps manage engine start and stop more fluidly. Steering has also been revised with a more direct ratio, giving the wheels a quicker response for the same amount of steering input.

Predictive air suspension and active body control

Airmatic air suspension remains standard, now with predictive damper control that can draw on Car to X data shared anonymously by other Mercedes-Benz vehicles that have already driven the same stretch of road, feeding that information into the Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Cloud to prepare the car’s response in advance.

The optional E-Active Body Control system uses five multicore processors and more than 20 sensors to analyse the car’s behaviour up to 1,000 times per second, independently controlling the spring and damping force at each wheel to counter body roll, pitch and lift under acceleration, braking, cornering and rough surfaces. In Curve mode, the GLS can lean into a corner by up to three degrees, mimicking the way a motorcycle leans to reduce the lateral force felt by occupants, actively tilting the body rather than simply keeping it flat. Off road, the system can repeatedly raise and lower the body to help the car regain traction when stuck in deep sand or mud, using a 48 volt electrical network with four motor pump units, one per wheel, coordinated by a central control unit that can recover some of the energy generated by suspension movement.

MB.OS becomes the backbone of the digital experience

The new GLS runs on the Mercedes-Benz Operating System, known as MB.OS, which coordinates infotainment, online services, data processing and various vehicle functions, with a link to the Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Cloud enabling over the air software updates. The Zero Layer interface surfaces the information it judges most relevant directly on the home screen, based on recently used apps, context and user habits, with apps that can be organised into custom folders covering audio, video, productivity and entertainment content.

The MBUX Virtual Assistant takes a multi agent approach that combines technology from ChatGPT, Microsoft and Google, including Microsoft Bing Search and Google Gemini, allowing it to handle multi part requests and retain short term context during a conversation. The assistant appears on the Zero Layer as an animated Mercedes-Benz star in a Rose Gold shade specific to Maybach.

An optional MBUX High End Rear Seat Entertainment system adds two 11.6 inch Full HD displays with individually configurable rear MBUX remotes, using Maybach specific graphics to control entertainment, climate and comfort functions, with integrated cameras that can be used for video calls where services, connectivity and compatible apps allow.

Ten cameras and a supercomputer power the MB.Drive systems

The car uses ten external cameras, five radar sensors and twelve ultrasonic sensors, with data processed by a liquid cooled supercomputer capable of up to 254 trillion operations per second. MB.D Assist and Distance Assist Distronic feature among the main standard systems.

MB.Drive Parking Assist can identify available spaces on either side of the road, including areas without clearly marked white lines, and can also help the car exit a space it was originally parked into manually. A Reverse Maneuvering function can memorise a section of the route just driven and, under certain conditions, follow it automatically in reverse, with the central display showing the rear camera feed alongside a graphic of the planned path. The MB.Drive Parking Assist 360 system adds a dedicated warning for the distance between the wheels and obstacles, with an overhead view flagging the risk of getting too close to kerbs or other low lying objects during manoeuvres.

Mercedes-Maybach GLS 680 2027 preliminary specifications