Any way you look at it, Maybach has not been the success DaimlerChrysler had hoped for when it revived the old super-luxury badge a few years back. Industry sources – and by industry sources, we mean our magic 8-ball and cabinet of stuffed-animal advisors – all seem to agree that the uber-Mercedes brand is going to need some new models to supplement the 57 and 62 limousines if Maybach is going to live to see another sunrise. The question remains, however, what those new models might constitute.
Earlier reports suggested the possible addition of convertible versions of both Maybach sedans, drawing on the concept previewed by the Mercedes Ocean Drive to revive the "parade car" segment. Another suggestion was the production of a Maybach sport-ute, based on the full-size Mercedes-Benz GL-Class SUV, but luxed-up and blinged out to the max to make for a super-premium truck destined for the Aspen slopes, Arabian dunes and Hollywood hills.
Newer reports suggest that the next Maybach model could take the form of an ultra-premium four-door coupe to take after its corporate cousin the Mercedes CLS, only positioned significantly higher in anticipation of the arrival of the Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera. This uber-CLS would slot in the range below the current Maybach 57, but above the Mercedes CLS and S-Class.
(More after the jump...)
Capitalizing on the four-door coupe trend that Mercedes themselves spearheaded seems like a smarter move than putting just another conventional luxury sedan on the market, especially when buyers already seem to have trouble justifying the enormous price differential between the S-Class and Maybach 57. The new Maybach four-door would likely be powered by the twin-turbo 5.5-liter V12, pumping out some 600 hp and over 700 lb-ft of torque. Pricing would come in around $250,000, and the car would only be marketed outside Europe.
With new Mercedes-based products, could Maybach deliver the kind of clout and content to justify the significantly higher prices? We hope to find out, one way or another.
Related posts:
- Maybach expansion may include convertible, SUV
- Babybach: DaimlerChyrsler announces lil' Maybach to follow baby Rolls
[Source: Automobile]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kwesi @ Apr 30th 2007 7:27PM
cool, I actually like maybach and there products. this segment is super small, and products are key, not number of products. a superlux suv! now thats something id like to see. (i really dont see the point of maybach though, y bother..i would choose a phantom for my sedan, and a continental gt for a coupe (hence y i said the suv seemed like a nice idea)
HotRodzNKustoms @ Apr 30th 2007 8:16PM
I think Maybach just put the entire world of the rich into a deep sleep. No one who can afford these cars want one. They all want exciting products like a Rolls or Bentley. Not a over-priced Hyundai Azera. Bring the Exelero to market and then Maybach might sell a few cars, but their current cars and the volume those cars are selling are summed up in a single word, pathetic.
LloydChiro @ Apr 30th 2007 8:37PM
A Maybach SUV would just be plain tacky. It would be tacky like those stretched Expedition SUV limos that I see driving around in the wine country are tacky.
Graham @ Apr 30th 2007 8:46PM
maybachs problem is that it they really are amazing cars but thur so... mercedes-ish
also not everyone wants to be driven a car that is marketed as a limousine, a friend of mine's dad was thinking about a 57s and actually didn't buy it because he felt like an idiot in it because you just dont drive that yourself, so id expect a new sporting saloon, or "4-door coupe" as the marketers say, to make the brand alot more appealing, especially if its priced under the current range
tony2x @ Apr 30th 2007 9:58PM
Note to Dr Z. Either let Maybach develop ahead of the Mercedes Benz curve or take it out and shoot it in the head. The current plutobarges were made obsolete and inferior when the new S-Class hit the tarmac and don't rich people want the best of everything?
BOB @ May 1st 2007 3:43AM
..... IT SHOULD NOT BE PRONOUNCED "MY BOCK", BUT
"WHY BOTHER"?
German arrogance at its worst. As I am fond of noting, I have seen many Phantoms (German arrogance at its best), usually with drivers who seem Middle Eastern and under 45, in the Bev Hills area.
and only a handful of Maybachs.
Kri @ May 1st 2007 5:46AM
The idea of re-creating the brand was quite in vogue when Mercedes took the plunge. Hard to blame them for it with the benefit of hindsight.
Unfortunately, as opposed to BMW, who bought RR, an operation used to handling small volume production, Mercedes went at it alone. Which resulted in the wrong culture and mode of thinking IMO. They based it on the W140 S-class architecture, as opposed to developing a spaceframe unique to the car. And applied the same cost+margin approach to deciding what goes in and what not. A £35k TVR had a more bespoke looking interior than the Maybach, surely a truly idiotic approach? Plus it looked like a bloated S-class, not the best of starts, either. Based on older mechanicals, as the then in development S-calss was sized down and would have been to small as a base...
As a result of all of this they missed the mark by quite a bit. How to salvage it? SUV? Might as well kill the brand now. Rebodying of it? Maybe but the appeal is supposed to be of a car that runs unchanged (on the outside) for much longer than the rest of the range. A modern 600 or Phantom V if you will. So they got themselves in a bit of a mess out of which there is no good way out.
TedS @ May 1st 2007 9:48AM
The only real thing the maybach has going for it in the segment is anonymity. Many who have that kind of cash don't want everyone to know they are in a $400k vehicle and since most people can't tell it from an s class anyway that is a good thing comapred to the ultra blingy Phantoms. Of course why areyou buying a car like that if you aren't showing off so who knows. The Excelero is dope though
big L @ May 1st 2007 7:03PM
Don't all these hi performance vehicles have limiters on the top MPH? It seems ridiculous to spend all that money and get for all that tech and get the Hyundai Azera top speed.