The Maextro S800 Grand Design is the halo trim of Huawei's ultra-luxury Maextro brand, built by JAC under the HIMA (HarmonyOS Intelligent Mobility Alliance) umbrella and positioned squarely against the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class and, on ambition alone, the Rolls-Royce Spectre. This is not the standard Maextro S800 that launched back in 2025 from around $100,000 — Grand Design is a distinct, hand-finished flagship trim that went on sale in China in June 2026 at a unified 1.388 million yuan (about $205,296) for either powertrain choice. The range-extended (EREV) version reviewed here pairs a tri-motor 851 hp drivetrain with a 1.5-liter generator engine for a combined 1,200 km of CLTC range, while a dual-motor pure-EV version is also offered at the same price. Inside, buyers get a 2+2 executive cabin with zero-gravity massage seats, a rear refrigerator, and an optional hand-embroidered "starry sky" roof liner. Deliveries began in late August 2026, making this a genuinely new, currently-shipping car rather than a concept.
Performance & Specs
The EREV Grand Design uses a tri-motor AWD layout — one 160 kW motor up front and two 237.5 kW motors at the rear — for a combined system output of 635 kW (851 hp) and 718 Nm of torque, enough to send the roughly 2.8-tonne sedan from 0-100 km/h in 4.7 seconds and on to a 210 km/h top speed. A 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder range extender (127 kW) never drives the wheels directly; it exists purely to top up the 65 kWh Huawei "Giant Whale" NMC battery once it's depleted, burning about 7.1 L/100 km while doing so from a 50-liter tank. The alternative dual-motor pure-EV version of Grand Design trades the range extender for a larger 120 kWh pack and drops output to 390 kW (523 hp) and 673 Nm, at the same $205,296 price. Both versions ride on a 3,370 mm wheelbase with a 800V electrical architecture and adjustable air suspension, with 150 mm of ground clearance in the standard setting and 21-inch wheels wrapped in 265/40R21 tires.
| Powertrain | Tri-motor AWD EREV |
|---|---|
| Power | 635 kW (851 hp) |
| Torque | 718 Nm |
| 0–100 km/h | 4.7 s |
| Battery | 65 kWh |
| Range | 1,200 km combined |
| POWERTRAIN TYPE | Range-extended EV (EREV); pure-EV version also offered |
|---|---|
| HORSEPOWER | 635 kW (851 hp) EREV · 390 kW (523 hp) EV |
| ACCELERATION | 4.7 s (0–100 km/h, EREV) |
| TOP SPEED | 210 km/h |
| DRIVETRAIN | AWD, tri-motor (EREV) or dual-motor (EV) |
| BATTERY | 65 kWh (EREV) · 120 kWh (EV) |
| ELECTRIC RANGE | 365 km CLTC (EREV) · 780 km CLTC (EV) |
| COMBINED RANGE | 1,200 km CLTC (EREV) |
Dimensions & Practicality
| Length | 5,480 mm |
|---|---|
| Width | 2,000 mm |
| Height | 1,536 mm |
| Wheelbase | 3,370 mm |
| Ground clearance | 150 mm (air suspension adjustable) |
Grand Design is offered strictly as a 2+2 executive-seating sedan rather than the 5-seat layout available on lower S800 trims, prioritizing rear-cabin space over headcount. The 3,370 mm wheelbase — longer than a Mercedes-Maybach S-Class — translates into generous rear legroom for the two independent "zero-gravity" rear seats. The power-operated trunk holds 445 liters, confirmed by the reviewer opening it on camera, enough for a set of golf bags or airport luggage despite the low, coupe-like roofline. A panoramic glass roof with an electric sunshade sits above the rear cabin, and an optional "Brocade Flourishing Flowers" package adds a hand-embroidered starry-sky headliner completed with 510,000 individual stitches.
| LENGTH | 5,480 mm |
|---|---|
| WIDTH | 2,000 mm |
| HEIGHT | 1,536 mm |
| WHEELBASE | 3,370 mm |
| CARGO VOLUME | 445 L |
| SEATING | 4 (2+2 executive layout) |
Charging & Battery
Both Grand Design versions run on Huawei's 800V "Giant Whale" battery platform. The EREV's 65 kWh pack is the smaller of the two, sized to deliver a genuine 365 km of CLTC electric-only range before the range extender kicks in, while the pure-EV version steps up to a 120 kWh pack for 780 km CLTC on a single charge. On a DC fast charger, the reviewer clocked roughly 10 minutes to take the battery from low to 80% thanks to the 800V architecture; on a standard AC home charger, a full charge takes about 8–10 hours depending on which battery size is fitted. When the EREV's battery is depleted, the 1.5-liter range-extender engine sips fuel from a 50-liter tank at a claimed 7.1 L/100 km.
| BATTERY | 65 kWh EREV · 120 kWh EV, 800V "Giant Whale" NMC |
|---|---|
| AC CHARGING | Full charge in 8–10 hours |
| DC FAST CHARGING | 800V ultra-fast charging |
| DC 10-80% TIME | ≈10 min |
Design & Interior
Grand Design leans into a two-tone paint scheme — the demo car wore a deep teal lower body with a pearl-white roof and hood — split by a chrome waistline that runs the full length of the car. The nose carries slim LED daytime running lights and a functional grille feeding the range extender, while the rear gets full-width LED taillights that the reviewer called out as one of the car's strongest visual details. Door handles are flush and open on a hand-sensor rather than a mechanical pull. Inside, the cabin is built around a red-and-black leather theme with 18 wood-inlay trim panels, a power-adjustable leather-wrapped steering wheel with a metal Maextro emblem, and configurable ambient lighting that cycles through multiple colors. The rear cabin is the real showcase: two independent zero-gravity seats with 14-way power adjustment, heating, ventilation, and multi-mode massage, plus a center console housing a UV-sterilizing dual-zone refrigerator, a fingerprint-locked safe, and folding aviation-style trays.
Technology & Features
The dashboard uses a panoramic multi-screen layout with a digital driver display, a wide center touchscreen, and a separate front-passenger display, all running a HarmonyOS-based interface that the demo car had switched to a full English-language menu — a detail the reviewer specifically called out and demonstrated live. Voice commands control climate, seat modes, ambient lighting, and media across front and rear zones, and rear passengers get their own control screen for the massage, ventilation, heating, and "HIMA Lounge" seat presets. Audio comes from a 43-speaker Huawei Sound premium system. A 360-degree camera system feeds the automatic parking assist, and the car supports Eco, Comfort, and Sport drive modes alongside a dedicated Zero-Gravity relaxation mode for rear passengers.
Safety & ADAS
Grand Design ships with HUAWEI ADS 5.0 (Qiankun), the brand's newest driver-assist stack, built around a six-LiDAR sensor matrix — one 896-line image-grade LiDAR, four solid-state LiDAR units, and one interior cabin LiDAR — supplemented by a full suite of cameras and radar for 360-degree coverage. Huawei positions the hardware as "L3+"-ready, meaning it is built to support conditional automated driving as regulations allow, backed by the CAS 5.0 full-scenario collision avoidance system. Automatic parking assist and active safety monitoring are standard across both powertrain versions.
| ADAS LEVEL | L2+ active, L3+-ready hardware |
|---|---|
| ADAS FEATURES | HUAWEI ADS 5.0, CAS 5.0 collision avoidance, 6-LiDAR matrix, 360° camera, automatic parking assist |
Available Versions
| VERSION | POWER | TORQUE | 0-100 | TOP SPEED | DRIVETRAIN | BATTERY | EV RANGE | COMBINED RANGE | PRICE | KEY DIFFERENCES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Design EREV | 851 hp | 718 Nm | 4.7s | 210 km/h | AWD | 65 kWh | 365 km | 1,200 km | $205,296 | Tri-motor range extender; the top-power, longest-total-range choice |
| Grand Design EV | 523 hp | 673 Nm | — | 210 km/h | AWD | 120 kWh | 780 km | — | $205,296 | Dual-motor pure-EV; no range extender, largest battery |
Pricing & Availability
The Maextro S800 Grand Design launched in China on June 25, 2026, at a unified official guide price of 1.388 million yuan (about $205,296) for either the EREV or pure-EV powertrain — itself a discount of more than 210,000 yuan versus the 1.6–2 million yuan range floated during May's pre-order phase. Deliveries began in late August 2026. It sits above the standard Maextro S800, which has been on sale since May 2025 from roughly $100,000, and above Maextro's own V800 EREV MPV. As of September 2026, Maextro has not confirmed sales outside mainland China.
How It Compares
There is nothing else in our own catalog anywhere near the S800 Grand Design's true rivals — the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class and Rolls-Royce Spectre — so the closest useful contrast is against our own database. Maextro's own V800 EREV MPV costs about $92,000 less and actually posts a longer combined range (1,335 km) thanks to its bigger fuel tank, but it can't match the S800's sedan proportions, 851 hp output, or hand-finished cabin. The closest price bracket we have on file is the Hyptec SSR, a 1,225 hp EV performance coupe at $190,063 — more power for less money, but no range extender and a fraction of the S800's rear-cabin luxury kit. For genuine cross-shop context: a 2026 Mercedes-Maybach S 580 starts at roughly $204,900 in the US, putting the Maextro within a few hundred dollars of it, while a Rolls-Royce Spectre starts around $425,000 — more than double the price for a car with far less range and no gasoline backup at all.
- 851 hp and a 1,200 km CLTC combined range solve the two biggest anxieties of ultra-luxury EV ownership — power and range — in one car
- Rear cabin (zero-gravity massage seats, UV-sterilizing fridge, embroidered roof option) genuinely competes with Maybach-level appointments
- Priced almost exactly against a Mercedes-Maybach S 580, undercutting the Rolls-Royce Spectre by roughly half
- Sold only in China as of September 2026, with no confirmed path for US or European buyers to purchase or service one officially
- A largely unproven ultra-luxury brand asking flagship Maybach money, with none of the century-plus badge equity that buyers at this price typically pay for
The Maextro S800 Grand Design is Huawei's clearest statement yet that Chinese ultra-luxury is done playing catch-up on price and has started competing on price parity instead. At $205,296 it doesn't undercut the Mercedes-Maybach S 580 — it matches it almost to the dollar — and backs that price with an 851 hp tri-motor drivetrain, a 1,200 km combined range that erases any range anxiety, and a rear cabin with more tech than anything in the Maybach or Spectre's back seat. The trade-off is brand risk: there's no century of prestige here, no dealer network outside China, and no way to buy one in the West today. For a Chinese buyer who wants the specs of a hypercar-adjacent EV with the comfort of a chauffeur-driven flagship, this is very hard to beat for the money. For everyone else, it's a fascinating preview of where this segment is headed next.
