Mercedes-Maybach's Facelifted GLS 600 Just Landed With 612 Horsepower and a Grille That Glows
Mercedes-Maybach has just rolled out an update to the GLS 600, and it lands on one of the most-watched nameplates in the Gulf. The GLS 600 4MATIC is the sole Maybach variant sold in the UAE, and it has spent years as one of the default choices for buyers who want an SUV that reads as unmistakably ultra-luxury rather than merely well-optioned. Order books opened in the US and Europe at the end of July, the car is already orderable in China, and deliveries are now getting underway, which makes this a genuinely live story rather than a rumor.
The headline change is under the hood. The electrified 4.0-litre biturbo V8, badged M177 EVO, now produces 612 horsepower with the help of a second-generation 48-volt integrated starter-generator that contributes an extra 23 horsepower of electric boost, plus 850 Nm of torque. That is a meaningful jump over the outgoing car's 557 horsepower, and it comes without giving up the smoothness Maybach buyers expect from a V8 that is meant to be heard, not felt.
What changed on the outside and inside
The most visible update is the grille, which is now illuminated, a detail that reads as showy in photos but is clearly aimed at the market where showing up matters. Wheels get attention too: a new 22-inch, 20-hole light-alloy design joins a 23-inch forged option, and on both, the centre-mounted three-pointed star is engineered to stay upright regardless of wheel rotation, a small mechanical flourish that has become something of a Maybach signature. Inside, executive rear seats with power recline, massage and calf rests are now standard rather than optional, alongside AIRSCARF neck-level heating, wireless charging and available champagne flute holders and folding tables. Mercedes has also extended the MANUFAKTUR bespoke programme to the GLS from launch, including full leather packages that cover even the roof liner, hand-finished at the Sindelfingen atelier. On the technology side, MB.DRIVE ASSIST PRO adds SAE Level 2 assisted driving for urban use, running on the latest MB.OS software.
What it means for buyers and sellers in the UAE
In the UAE, the outgoing Maybach GLS 600 has carried a starting price around AED 1.08 million, and this update is expected to sit close to that mark once local pricing is confirmed, still well below what a comparable Bentley Bentayga or Rolls-Royce Cullinan would ask, which is exactly why it sells as well as it does here. A refresh like this always creates a moment in the resale market: buyers who have been waiting to see what changes before ordering new now have their answer, while owners of the current-shape GLS 600 often decide it is the right time to move on before the new grille and power figures shift what the used market expects a well-specced example to be worth.
That is the gap House of Cars Dubai spends most of its time in. We help clients place orders and manage allocation on cars like the new GLS 600 through our sourcing network, and just as often we are helping someone sell a well-maintained current-generation Maybach GLS at a fair price before values move, or helping a buyer find exactly that car at a lower entry point than a factory order. Whichever side of that trade you are on, a facelift like this is the moment to have the conversation, not after the new model is already common on Sheikh Zayed Road.
Mercedes has not confirmed an exact UAE on-sale date beyond the general 2026 rollout, but given how quickly Maybach allocations move through Gulf showrooms, expect the first units to reach Dubai well before many other right-hand and left-hand-drive markets see theirs.