Mercedes-Benz has revealed the outlandish Project Maybach concept – an all-electric and totally bespoke creation, co-designed with fashion designer Virgil Abloh, who passed away earlier this month.
- Combines grand tourer proportions with off-road design details
- Gets solar panels, under a transparent bonnet, for improving driving range
- No indication from Mercedes about a production-spec version
Mercedes-Maybach off-road luxury EV concept: design details
The concept has been revealed in tribute to Abloh, who worked with Mercedes designer Gordon Wagener to create a show car that "exemplifies the possibilities of future design".
The concept has been designed from the ground up and is said to be "unlike anything" the manufacturer has created so far. It explores a new design language for Mercedes' luxury brand, inspired by "the great outdoors".
The Project Maybach has been styled with the aim of "recontextualising a traditionally urban brand within a distinctly off-road environment", and is described as a 2-seat, battery-electric off-road coupé. At six metres long, the concept is a full 745mm longer than even the extended-wheelbase version of the S-Class.
Not obviously related to any production Mercedes model, it combines traditional grand tourer proportions with chunky off-road tyres, hinting at a dual focus on go-anywhere ability and classic Maybach levels of refinement.
Mercedes has given no indication of production intent for the new machine. It hasn’t detailed its powertrain either, beyond suggesting that the solar panels underneath its transparent bonnet will "increase the imagined range".
Mercedes-Maybach plans for India
The unveiling of the off-road coupe concept follows the recent debut of the new Maybach EQS SUV concept, which more closely previews the division's first electric vehicle.
Though it is too early to comment on the India plans for the production-spec Maybach EQS SUV, what we do know is that the latest version of the combustion-engined Maybach S-Class sedan will be launched in our market early next year. The petrol-powered Maybach GLS SUV is already on sale here at a sticker price of Rs 2.43 crore (ex-showroom, India).
What do you think about Maybach's luxury off-roader concept? Let us know in the comments below.
Also see:
Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 video review