Maybach S 580

Some Sardinian days call not for speed but for poise: stepping off the tender at Porto Cervo marina, the drive up to a villa in Pantogia, arriving at a gala dinner just as the sun slips behind Capo Ferro. The Maybach S 580 was built for precisely these moments — the door closing with a sigh, the two-tone livery catching the lights of the piazzetta, time inside the cabin running a beat slower than outside.

It is also the flagship that accompanies life's milestone days. For a vow exchanged on the island, our guide to choosing the car for a wedding in Sardinia begins exactly here. And if you are staying in the heart of Gallura, our page on luxury car rental in Porto Cervo covers every option for delivery to your hotel or villa.

The 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with EQ Boost works like a butler — present, never intrusive. Pull-aways are velvet because the electric unit fills the first stride, the 9G-TRONIC changes gear without the body ever registering it, and at cruising speed the engine is a distant murmur behind inches of sound insulation. On the ribbon of tarmac between Arzachena and Baja Sardinia, all you hear is the hush of passing air.

Whoever drives discovers an unexpected agility: rear-axle steering tightens the turning circle and makes even the lanes of Porto Cervo feel natural. Whoever sits behind — in reclining armchairs with massage function and finely judged ambient lighting — understands why a Maybach is judged from the back seat: even the most winding Sardinian road becomes a straight line.

The S 580 in our fleet comes in one configuration only, with four seats: two individual rear armchairs separated by a centre console, the upright Maybach grille and the two-tone obsidian black over silver paintwork that is the marque's signature. There are no options to tick and no versions to compare — this is already the Maybach idea expressed in full.

Within a fleet of more than 100 models and 150-plus versions, it remains the car we recommend when the brief is a single sentence: arrive the right way. The star's other interpretations are gathered on our Mercedes-AMG and Maybach rental in Sardinia page; for this one, a message to our WhatsApp concierge is all it takes to check availability.