click above to view more high-resolution images of the Maybach 62 Laundaulet
Lord help us, for the automotive industry has sunk to a new low. As if it wasn't bad enough that Maybach created an ode to conspicuous consumption like the 62 Landaulet, but now Mercedes' big, goofy brother has decided to put the thing into production.
Following a spat of rumors, Maybach initially unveiled the half limo/half convertible/half marshmallow in Dubai this past November, and then laid it on us in person at the Detroit show. It starts with the Maybach 62 S and then peeled off half the roof like a can of sardines and slathered whitewash all over the thing. Unfortunately, as we could see by the yellow Cayenne we showed you yesterday, money and taste don't always go together, and Daimler seems content to separate the former from those who don't have the latter. The reported list price rivals the concept itself for sheer lunacy: $1.19 million. That's an unfathomable $756k premium over the $433,750 list price for a 2008 Maybach 62 S, though we've found conflicting reports that it will start at £350,000 or around $685,000 USD. We'd like to speak to any potential customers considering buying a Maybach 62 Laundaulet about this bucket of extremely rare sand that we're offering for a very reasonable price.
We've added some new official high-res images of the 62 Laundaulet to our gallery of live shots from the 2008 Detroit Auto Show below.
[Source: Motor Authority]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Alex @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:11AM
i really want to know how many they sell. i'm going to set the bar pretty high at 15.
Jon @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:36AM
I'll take the under for $10
steve @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:16AM
that is the ultimate pimpmobile, talk about bad taste
Overengineered @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:17AM
Landaulet - The dream of every army sniper whose mission is to get rid of the bad guy from africa or so...
Evotec @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:21AM
lol...
Jon @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:38AM
First they fubar Chrysler and now this. Silly Germans...
John P. @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:39AM
*shakes head*
I'd say if you want something exclusive and have the cash, something like this is the last thing in the world you'd want. Why not just jet into LA with your Shiny Haliburton Brief Case full of cash and have a one-off barge built by Chip Foose or something, not this ugly thing.
ChrisL @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:42AM
Just for kicks I'd like to see a video of the transformation from closed to open. I'm thinking it's a pain to do with that tall cover over the folded roof section.
Koko @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:50AM
I just can't fathom spending this kind of money. Or even fathom people have this kind of money. I'll take the under for $10 as well.
XJ X-traordinaire @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:45AM
I dont think we'll see a single one of these outside the Middle East.
John Johnson @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:45AM
Haha, reminds me of Hammond's car in the Top Gear Limo challenge.
Dev @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:46AM
I'm sure they have customers lined up to buy this thing, these over the top cars have a huge market in the gulf amongst the wealthy sheikhs... explains the white colour too!
tanooki2003 @ Jan 23rd 2008 10:04AM
GAG. If i had that kind of pocket cash I would buy a Veyron not this...this ultimate cutlass pimpmobile supreme
Gregg @ Jan 23rd 2008 10:24AM
I'd buy a Vreyon too. However, if you want to be chauffered in pampering grand style, you can do worse than a Maybach 62. Having an opening roof is not the worst sin, and I doubt that ordering it in white will be required. Again, I have seen some godawful conversions, but this does not sink to that level. The exclusivity alone (along with the posh coachwork) will sell a few of these things to people who have more money than God does.
Phil Perman @ Jan 23rd 2008 11:55AM
I dare say the type of person who will buy this will already have an Veyron in their garage. And an Enzo. And a Zonda. And a 'segg, And a Carrera GT, And a regular Maybach. And a... well, you get the idea.
J M C 3 @ Jan 23rd 2008 10:20AM
Too 'huggy bear' for me.(think Starsky & Hutch)
John P. @ Jan 23rd 2008 10:53AM
Huggy Bear's Lincoln was way cooler than this though.
JPA914 @ Jan 23rd 2008 12:07PM
I believe maybe you mean a *spate* of rumors not a spat. It changes the meaning of the sentence.
Regarding the Landaulet; I agree it is vulgar but it would be much less so in a more subdued color like black or even a two tone charcoal over navy. Then it might even be opulent. There can be a very fine line between the two.
Tom @ Jan 23rd 2008 4:21PM
You would think for that kind of money they could have designed a more elegant way to store the roof.
AntBee @ Jan 23rd 2008 5:20PM
I really like this car! If I had the money, and the need for it, I would buy it.