At Kelley Blue Book, we have the privilege of reviewing hundreds of cars each year, all with the goal of informing and empowering everyday shoppers so they can find the best vehicle for their budget and needs.
Once in a while a car arrives in our garage that, if we’re being honest, no one needs and is beyond the budget of 99.99% of the population. The 2026 Mercedes-Maybach SL 680 Roadster is the latest example of just such an outlier among outliers.
What is a Mercedes-Maybach, you ask? Think of it as the ultra-luxurious version of a Mercedes-Benz, which, yes, already makes some of the most ostentatious cars money can buy. Maybach models take Mercedes vehicles to another level and are meant for those in an even higher tax bracket. If Mercedes-Benz buyers cross-shop vehicles from BMW and Lexus, those considering a Maybach are comparing automobiles from Bentley and perhaps even Rolls-Royce. Yeah, we’re talking that kind of money.
In the shortest of history lessons, Maybach began as its own luxury automaker in the early 1900s, was acquired by Daimler-Benz in the 1960s, and then became its own brand in the early 2000s, when it made ultra-luxury sedans. In 2015, it became a sub-brand of Mercedes, and now Maybach models represent the highest form of flagship vehicles like the S-Class sedan and GLS SUV.
Now, Mercedes has introduced a Maybach for plutocrats who enjoy driving rather than being driven. Meet the all-new 2026 Mercedes-Maybach SL Roadster, the first modern 2-door, open-air vehicle from the storied brand.
Which Trim Level
While the Mercedes-AMG SL Roadster on which it’s based offers four trims to choose from, the Mercedes-Maybach SL Roadster grants you one. Limited choice is something of a theme here, mostly because this very special car leaves few wanting for more. Including destination fee, the base price is $226,250, after all.
If you must part with more, or would like a color other than red or white for the exterior, various others are offered via the Manufaktur palette — the company’s customization unit — for $9,990.
Black is the only choice you get for the soft top, and white is the only offering within. I hope your Louis Vuitton sneakers aren’t dirty.
Speaking of LV, do you like logos of your extravagant accessories everywhere? Then you’re in for a treat, because Maybach emblems abound. Most extravagant or offensive, depending on your taste, is on the hood, where for $6,500 extra you can get about a million of them set against the black finish. Look closely, and you’ll also see them spread like stars across the fabric roof.
New 2026 Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Maybach SL Prices
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Retail Price
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Fair Purchase Price (92620)
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$226,050 |
$205,000 |
Favorite Feature
Yes, I love the physical features such as the massaging seats and Burmester premium audio system the Mercedes-Maybach SL brings to the table, but the real attraction is simply its presence. While its sheet metal is shared with lesser SL variants, the Maybach is almost cartoonish in its extravagance.
Between the massive grille, captivating wheels, and its countless Maybach emblems splashed about, this is a car that people literally stop in their tracks and look at. If you want a car that attracts attention and admiration for its opulence, here you go.
What It’s Like to Drive
The Maybach SL shares the powertrain of the Mercedes-AMG SL 63 Roadster, a 577-horsepower twin-turbo V8. Like that racier sibling, it is all-wheel drive (AWD) and uses a 9-speed automatic transmission.
But if the AMG variant is about performance, the Maybach is about pampering. Whereas this latest generation of SL roadsters has been noted for being harsher and sportier than those that came before it, the Maybach stays true to its persona of coddling.
Suffice to say, this is among the most comfortable roadsters I’ve ever driven. Softer suspension tuning and exclusive drive modes truly make this the Maybach of roadsters.
With the fabric top up, it is respectably quiet on freeways. And even with it down you can converse with your passenger, perhaps weighing whether you should vacation in the Azores again or instead relax in St. Barts next month.
As for power and performance, it’s a quiet roar. Zero to 60 mph happens in a brief 4 seconds, convenient for when you’re running late to your reservation at The French Laundry.
I mostly kept it in Comfort mode, which does everything it sounds like. If Comfort isn’t, um, comfortable enough, there’s the Maybach mode, which further softens everything. It was a bit too soft for my liking, but you do you.
One party trick I love on many a Mercedes is the 4-wheel steering. At low speeds, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction as the front ones, which shrinks the diameter of u-turns to a comically small radius.
Interior Comfort and Technology
The Maybach SL differs from the standard SL in some key aspects inside. First, the Maybach ditches the two tiny mantles that other SL trims call rear seats. What adult could even fit back there or would want to? Certainly not friends of the billionaires in the front seats of this Maybach.
So the Maybach SL is solely a 2-seater, and you can use the rear areas for what they are used for in other SLs equipped with seats: storage.
Then there are the materials. Of course the leather is soft and plush. It’s also white. Only white. Everything is white. The seats, the side sills, the carpet, and even much of the steering wheel. This is your only choice.
Heaven help you if your shoes like to scuff or your clothes bleed. I can only guess that the ultra-rich have people to take care of quibbles like cleaning up after you’ve soiled your quarter-million-dollar convertible.
Otherwise, this Maybach mimics much of the richness and tech of any other modern SL. And for the record, I still don’t like that touch-sensitive volume slider.
Limitations
Beyond budgetary considerations — Can you spend the price of a starter home on a 2-seat roadster? — there are some factors to keep in mind, even beyond that asking-for-trouble white interior.
Truth be told, under the skin and even in it, the Maybach version of the SL shares a lot with the other models, which start at $113,900. Even its closest kin in the range, the AMG SL 63, starts nearly $40,000 below the Maybach — and that one will let you choose a different colored roof and interior.
Granted, it won’t ride as softly as this one, and it won’t have quite as much panache. Does the Maybach badging, the extra coddling, and that overwhelming presence justify the added expense? I’m the type of mere mortal who has to ask. If you walk in the rarefied air of those who don’t, what’s an extra 40 grand, give or take?
