Maybach SL 680

Take the road that drops from Palau towards Baja Sardinia at the hour when the granite turns pink: the La Maddalena archipelago slides along the horizon, the scent of wild helichrysum drifts into the open cabin, and the SL 680 cruises top-down with the composure of a car that has nothing to prove. This is no stopwatch convertible — it is a moving observatory over the Sardinian sea.

If the summer you have in mind is an open-air one, our guide to the perfect convertibles for the Sardinian coast helps place this Maybach in context; and if you are staying between Porto Cervo and Romazzino, our page on Mercedes rental on the Costa Smeralda sets out every option for delivery to your hotel or villa.

All 585 horsepower of the 4.0-litre twin-turbo are present and correct, but they speak a different language from the AMGs: the voice is a well-mannered baritone, full under acceleration and almost absent at a cruise, because here the landscape is the protagonist. The 9-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT gearbox, tuned for comfort, accompanies rather than snatches; the chassis, softer than its sporting sisters', lets the coast road's imperfections roll beneath you like long swells.

The fabric roof opens in seconds, even on the move — the gesture to make as you leave the harbour before the corniche — and the airflow management lets you hold a conversation top-down without raising your voice. 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive keeps everything composed through the twists of Capo d'Orso, where the tarmac narrows between the rocks and the sea.

There are no versions to choose between, and rightly so: the SL 680 is the first roadster of Maybach's modern era, offered in a single two-seat configuration with a two-tone silver over obsidian black livery and bespoke detailing. It is a car booked for an anniversary, an escape for two, an arrival destined to linger in the eyes of everyone watching.

Within our selection of convertibles for hire in Sardinia it represents the most exclusive interpretation of open-top travel: less extreme than an open supercar, rarer than anything else gracing the piazzetta. Message our WhatsApp concierge to check availability — delivery is wherever you choose, from the yacht's berth to the villa forecourt.