The Maybach SL 680 Monogram Series Is A Bunch Of Decisions I'm Too Poor To Understand

The 2026 Mercedes-Maybach SL 680 Monogram Series is not a shy car. No SL is exactly subtle, but Maybach's chrome-all-the-things aesthetic and the duo-tone finish of the two launch configurations — this White Ambiance in matte white, or Red Ambiance with gloss red, each paired with a contrast black hood — seem determined to draw attention to the fact that you spent a whole lot of money on a luxury roadster.

$224,900 plus $1,150 destination and the $1,300 gas-guzzler penalty, in fact, placing the Maybach at the top of the SL tree and leaving no cabin gadget or luxury appointment absent. Maybach buyers, it seems, aren't inclined to leave options boxes unchecked. All for a look that I suspect plays better in the typical stomping grounds of high-end droptops, like Los Angeles. On the mean midwestern streets of Michigan, few seemed moved.

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Nobody asked me what it was, in fact, though maybe that's just a sign that Mercedes sufficiently branded it. A gleaming "Maybach" legend across the pinstripe grille, and a proudly-perky Mercedes badge sprouting above it. That's unique to the Maybach-flavored SL, as is the chrome fin that guides your eye down the hood's centerline.

Under that finned and logo-spackled hood is a version of Mercedes' 4.0-liter V8 biturbo engine, here tuned for 577 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque (as in the AMG SL 63). That gets routed, via a 9-speed transmission, to the Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive. Active Ride Control air suspension is of course standard.

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The engine, transmission, and suspension are all finessed for Maybach purposes, however, Mercedes says. That means more of an emphasis on comfort rather than outright performance. At 4.0 seconds, the 0-60 mph dash takes half a second more than the equally-powerful AMG SL 63. You still get the locking rear differential, but the suspension generally is softened for greater compliance.

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Gone are the Sport+ and RACE modes that AMG offers; the Maybach version of the SL simplifies matters to just four options. Along with Comfort, Sport, and the driver-customizable Individual modes, there's a Maybach mode that leans into serene throttle response and floaty suspension.

It works, too, though you have to rethink your assumptions of a car that looks like the SL. The Maybach treatment makes so much more sense, on paper at least, when applied to something like the S-Class. That's already a vast, stately sedan: you can understand the thinking of massaging it into something even more soporific (and I mean that as a compliment) for those in the back seats.

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Sometimes, the Maybach SL doesn't seem quite so certain as to what it is. That dialed-back throttle response can feel positively languid, requiring a heavier right foot than you might expect to unlock the genuinely impressive amount of power on offer. Sport mode, meanwhile, is moderately perkier, but this always feels like a boulevard cruiser — a sedan suddenly shortened — versus a sports car.

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Maybach buyers, Mercedes insists, want much the same experience of the four-door models, only from behind the wheel. They also want something bold and head-turning, hence the $5,000 21-inch multi-spoke forged wheels on this particular SL 680 and the $6,500 Maybach logo pattern on the hood. That apparently starts with a base layer of black that's clear coated and hand-sanded before a machine with over a thousand nozzles applies the logos, after which three more clear-coat layers are applied with more hand-sanding in-between.

Combined with plenty more logos on the soft-top roof, not to mention those molded into the grille pattern in the front lower fascia, and spread around the cabin, and you get about 800 Maybach badges in all. Perhaps Mercedes is also worried that owners will be confused as to who made their car.

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If it helps, Maybach is printed on the steering wheel — itself larger and vaguely reminiscent of what you'd find steering a fancy yacht — and under the standard air-scarf heating vents in the headrests, and in the custom digital gauge cluster graphics. The stitching pattern on the standard Manufaktur Crystal White Nappa leather is unique to Maybach, too.

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That stain-taunting hide spreads not just across the plush, massaging thrones but the rear of the — snug — cabin, where Maybach has eschewed seats in favor of a tailored cargo nook. Beautifully finished, certainly, but a conscious decision to focus on two people and their extra luggage rather than even pretend that friends (or kids) are invited. I'm a little surprised there's no matching dog carrier available yet.

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For all Mercedes' attention to detail here, a few things still rankle. So much of the cabin's switchgear is metal, and genuinely pleasing to the fingers; the plastic stalks for transmission selection and turn signals are a weird lapse, then.

The big question — and, frankly, the one I may not be offensively-wealthy enough to comprehend — is how this iteration of the convertible fits into the broader Mercedes line-up.

After all, the SL is, ostensibly, a sports car; in making this Maybach version, Mercedes has intentionally dialed back its sporting credentials. It's neither as powerful nor as quick as the AMG SL 63 S E Performance, despite the flagship AMG-branded roadster starting out $17,000 cheaper. The AMG is a 2+2, too, and while its rear seats are probably best described as vestigial, they're at least an option in a transportation pinch.

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A V12 engine would've been a sweet differentiator for the Maybach, but sadly was not to be. There's excess here, but not the most excess possible: a lot of badges, sure, and a lot of money, plus a lot of commitment to a resolutely two-seat roadster that just wants to waft, waft, waft around scenic roads with periodic gas station breaks (at 16 mpg combined, the SL 680 is actually thirstier than the much larger Maybach S580 sedan).

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Look, nobody is buying this as their one and only car, and to judge the Maybach SL by that metric (or most metrics pertinent to a pleb like me) would be a fool's errand. Ignore speed; embrace serenity; send the rest of the family on ahead in some other, more mundane vehicle. Trying to apply regular car logic — even regular roadster logic — misses the Maybach point entirely.