Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Maybach Exelero

Big-bucks enthusiasts annoyed that they're not the only ones at the club with a Veyron can now ensure that they arrive in total exclusivity. That's because the one-off Maybach Exelero, commissioned by Fulda to act as a high-profile demonstrator for its tire line of the same name, is now for sale. The Exelero isn't some delicate flower of a show car. Based on the Maybach 57 and powered by a 700-horsepower version of that car's turbocharged V12, the Exelero reached 218 mph at Nardo. In many ways, Exelero represents what Maybach could have and should have been -- a place where daring styling and incredible performance could merge with extreme luxury to compete with Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Instead, while the marque's sedans clearly get the luxury part of the equation right, in terms of styling, they basically work in anonymity, looking like peculiar old S-Class sedans. There's nothing anonymous about the Exelero, though, and for €5,000,000 (around $7.8 million USD), you can drive the sybaritic supercar that Daimler should have given Maybach all along.


[Anamera via eGMCarTech]

Sometimes the past deserves to remain in the past, but once in a while the automotive industry reaches into its history to resurrect something worthwhile whose demise was regrettable and whose return is welcome. The return of coachbuilding is one example of an industry trend we're glad is making a comeback.

Coachbuilding was popular decades ago among the extremely wealthy for whom the ordinary offerings of the automotive industry weren't anywhere near exclusive enough, so they had special bodywork fitted to regular cars to make them their own. Contemporary coachbuilt motors follow the same formula: an existing car fitted with new bodywork, and often customized mechanicals, for the most discerning and obscenely wealthy clients. Results have varied, but variety, as the saying goes, is the spice of life. Here we've chosen our ten favorite examples.

This sensational one-off 1950's custom is a hand-crafted built over the course of six years (1957-1963) by one man - John Bonaguro. If you're picking out elements from other cars of its time, you're not alone-- the designer cribbed a 1955 Oldsmobile Rocket V8 and transmission for motivation, the taillamps are Chevrolet circa 1958, the seats are from '62 Ford Thunderbird, and so on.

The hand-laid fiberglass body is original, and the car 'received a sympathetic restoration a few years ago,' which appears to have put it in good running order, with the patina of a vehicle that is actually meant to be driven. It boasts a radically low-slung greenhouse with a pursed split rear window and gorgeous looking custom aluminum bumperettes.

The car has a solid show history, and was featured in a 1964 Hot Rod magazine Custom Car Annual. As the eBay listing's text correctly points out, complete custom cars from this era are hard to come by, as many were subsequently cannibalized or scrapped to yield parts for later project cars.

We think this Bonaguro Special is a real looker, with a cohesive design language that has held up far better than most of the period pieces still seen circulating now and again. If its condition is as good as it looks in the listing, the current bidding price of $25,100 would appear to be less than half of what it is worth.

[Source: eBay]