Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler in the past six months has made moves to protect the S680 and GLS680 designations.
First discovered by Motor1, the designations were registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and specifically relate to usage on land vehicles and structural parts thereof.
The designations point to new range-topping versions of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and GLS, which currently top out with the S650 and GLS550, respectively.
The S650 designation is used exclusively on the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, suggesting that the Maybach version of the redesigned S-Class will sport the new S680 designation.
2021 Mercedes-Maybach GLS spy shots - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
And with the redesigned GLS set to spawn its own ultra-luxurious Maybach version, we'll likely see the blinged-out SUV carry the GLS680 designation.
We should note that while the current Maybach S650 sedan and convertible rely on a 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-12 generating 621 horsepower, their successors are expected to arrive with a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 and electric motor combo with even more power. Mercedes has already made hints of the demise of the V-12.
An extreme-performance version of this same hybrid powertrain is expected to feature in a range of new 73 series models from Mercedes-AMG. An 805-hp version of the powertrain was shown in 2017.
Mercedes is expected to introduce its redesigned GLS for the 2020 model year and the redesigned S-Class for 2021. The Maybach versions should arrive within a year of the standard Mercedes models on which they're based.
