Auto Blitz: Maybach

Showing posts with label Maybach. Show all posts

LA Auto Show Design Contest Part 1: Cadillac, Honda, Maybach and Mazda Concepts

For the past seven years, the most important automotive design studios in Southern California compete in a Design Challenge organized by the Los Angeles Auto Show. For this year's edition of the show, which runs November 19-29, the event planners decided to add an international flavor to the contest by inviting studios from Germany and Japan to join the competition for the very first time.

The theme for the 2010 Design Challenge is the creation of a super-efficient and lightweight four-passenger car: "The objective is to envision an efficient, light-weight, four passenger vehicle (not to exceed 1,000 lbs.), that is both comfortable and safe, while delivering satisfactory driving performance without sacrificing the styling consumers demand. "

Follow the break for the first group of concept models by Cadillac, Honda, Maybach and Mazda, and stay tuned for the second part.

Remember Xenatec, the German coachbuilders who took the overblown Maybach 57 S and massaged it into a svelte looking two door coupe? We now have some pictures of the production model, including a first look at the interior.

Just 100 units of the Xenatec Coupe will be built, with the high asking price of €675,000 (US$923,198) before taxes. And that's even before you add taxes or options. It was designed by Fredrik Burchhardt, who created Maybach's retro-modern Excelero concept back in 2005.

Question for our readers: In your opinion, how do four cougar-aged women who can't keep their panties (or their brains) on after one shot of tequila and a guy named 'Mr Big' relate to Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and Maybach products/brand?

While you think about it let us tell you that, as with the first installment of the male-snoozefest that is "Sex and the City", the sequel to the movie that hits cinemas on 27 May will see most characters driving or being driven in a bunch of Mercedes-Benz and Maybach models.

Since Mercedes-Benz's parent company Daimler has no official plans to introduce an 'uber' luxurious coupe for its fading Maybach brand, the company gave its blessing to German-based engineering firm Xenatec to create a two-door version of the Maybach 57S.

Said to be developed in close cooperation with Maybach, the 57S Coupe special will be built in a strictly limited number of 100 examples each priced from a hefty €650,000 or about US$805,000 at today's exchange rates.

The transformation from a limo to a coupe includes redesigned A-, B- and C-columns with the second column moved back by 200mm, a more raked roofline, restyled front and rear ends, and a slightly wider body while retaining the same 3.39m-long wheelbase as the sedan model.

Maybach, Daimler's Bentley/Roller division, is debuting the face-lifted versions of its 57 and 62 models in Beijing (now "with added sparkle"!). What can we expect from the little mega-luxury brand that couldn't?

First off, the body gets a few pinches here and there: a redesigned front bumper gets some extra trim, the new arrow-shaped hood gets snazzy edges and bigger, aerodynamic mirrors improve merging and now reduce driving noise.

Outside, the newish models will also feature more bling in the form of "a large new chrome radiator grille", LED daytime running lights, "high-quality dark red taillights", and "stylish wheels".

This is could be the end of the road for Maybach, the über-luxury marque that was re-launched by Mercedes-Benz in 2002. Mercedes' attempt to snag market share in the upper echelon of the luxury market (i.e. from Rolls-Royce and Bentley) has fallen relatively flat on its face, mostly thanks to insane pricing, relatively-dated styling, and shady Wall Street-ers losing everyone's money.

Admittedly, the Landaulet is pretty unique, but why anyone would end up paying almost $1.4 million for a stretched, previous-generation S-Class with a cloth top and a 5-speed automatic transmission is beyond me.

Whilst this incident isn't in way serious - thankfully, it's not every day that you see a Bentley Continental and a Maybach 62 scraping sides (or ends, we can't tell with certainty from the video). According to the Russian media, the accident happened somewhere in Moscow when the driver of the Bentley lost control of the car due the slippery conditions of the road. More pics and video after the break.

Thanks for the tip Allen!

SPIED: Maybach 57 and 62 to Receive a Minor Nip and Tuck

Parent company Daimler is out testing thinly camouflaged prototypes of the Maybach 57 and its long-wheelbase sibling dubbed 62. Even though the test cars don't appear to feature any visible styling changes, prospective buyers (yes, all 100 of you...) should expect to see similar modifications to those given to the facelifted Mercedes-Benz S-Class. In other words, minor cosmetic tweaks up front including a revised grille and quite possibly, reworked tail lamps.

However, the real improvements will be in the bits you cannot see with both Maybach models receiving upgraded or new technology and safety features as well as minor engine tweaks to improve fuel consumption and reduce CO2 emissions.

Expect to see the 2010 Maybach models appearing in showrooms towards the end of the year, or early 2010, depending on the market.