Has someone stretched an Alfa Romeo Disco Volante?

Nope, this is a Mercedes-Maybach, called the Vision 6 concept car. Shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in the US, this thing is nearly six metres long. Hence the number in the name.

What are its actual dimensions?

It measures a whopping 5,700mm long, 2,100mm wide and yet just 1,328mm tall, which means this Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 (to put its name into the car company's preferred order) makes a Rolls-Royce Wraith look a bit dainty. It is styled to ape the classic aero-coupe of days gone by and features a front grille based on a pinstripe suit, 24-inch alloy wheels with body-coloured transparent shields on them (reducing drag, yet still permitting a view of the spokes behind), a 'boat tail' with slim rear light clusters and a split rear window, plus possibly the biggest bonnet ever seen on a car. Oh, and gullwing doors, naturally. It's incredibly imposing.

The interior looks pretty special too - what's going on in there?

A mix of the analogue and the fully digitised. There are two jewel-like round dials behind the steering wheel, but everything else is displayed by computers. Including read-outs on the windscreen, a strip of glass in the middle of the car for mapping/seat info and even sensors in the leather interior to monitor the vital signs of the human beings on board. Rose gold and elm wood (for the floor, like a yacht) add to the luxury and the Vision concept has gesture control, too. The German company calls the interior a '360-degree lounge'.

And have we got a turbocharged V12 powering it?

No, we have four electric motors, one in each wheel, meaning all-corners traction and an immense output to match the behemoth bodywork: 750hp equates to 0-62mph in less than four seconds, a limited top speed of 155mph, zero emissions and a maximum range of 310 miles, although Mercedes also cites a real-world figure of 200 miles. That's thanks to a shallow 80kWh battery mounted under the floor, which can even be recharged for another 62 miles of range - courtesy of a DC rapid charging capacity of up to 350kW - in just five minutes.

Will the Vision 6 be made?

Highly, highly unlikely, although something similar could make production. Some of the features seen on it, though, like the elm wood and - most intriguingly of all - its mighty EV drivetrain, are said to be under consideration for 'series production'...

Matt Robinson - 19 Aug 2016