What's the blinkin' flip is this thing?!
Striking, isn't it?
Striking maybe isn't the word...
Well, we're absolutely sure that this vision in red is not going to win the heart of every person who gazes upon it, but - you've got to admit - it's bold. As we've never seen a saloon-SUV before.
Who on Earth made it and why?
It's called the Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury and it has been revealed at the Auto China show in Beijing. As Maybach is known for making elegant and grandiose saloons first and foremost and, as China loves such a thing, that explains the Vision Ultimate Luxury's bizarre rear-end treatment. The global explosion in popularity of the SUV (again, China can't get enough of the things) then dictates the fact it is high-riding and chunky, like an SUV.
What more can you tell me about the... aesthetics?
A big machine, the Maybach Ultimate Luxury is 5,260mm from tip to tail, 2,110mm at its broadest and stands 1,764mm tall on a set of whopping 24-inch turbine alloys. The front end of the car is dominated by a grille we've already seen on the Vision 6, while the rear looks a little like some of the coupe models of Mercedes-Benz SUVs, albeit with a unique triple-lamp arrangement. You might also note three lines that run the length of the saloon-SUV on its upper reaches, the centre item being particularly noteworthy as it bisects both the panoramic roof and the rear window of the car; very Corvette C2, that, although that's about where our allusion to the American muscle car classic and this German creation starts and finishes. Inside is a typically opulent cabin, replete with four massaging, heated and diamond quilted chairs that adjust every which way but loose, two 12.3-inch digital display screens and the use of light, airy colours, plus 'Magic Wood' ebony, a traditional feature of Chinese furniture.
And what powers it? Some sort of monster 6.0-litre V12?
Nope, the Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury is an EV. Four compact permanent-magnet synchronous electric motors provide fully variable all-wheel drive and a thumping great 550kW, which translates into a mammoth 750hp. With 80kWh lithium-ion batteries lying flat in the underfloor of the unusual SUV, a range of more than 312 miles is available on a single charge and, with a 350kW fast charger sucking down the volts, it'll take just five minutes to add another 62 miles to your potential travelling distance. Top speed is limited to 155mph, although Mercedes won't tell us how quickly the SUV gets off the line nor how much it weighs.
Any thoughts from the team behind this extraordinary vision?
"The Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury is a totally new archetype of a kind never seen before," said Gorden Wagener, chief design officer at Daimler AG. "Our concept combines the DNA of an SUV with that of a saloon to produce an ultra-modern SUV of three-box design. With sensuality and pure sophistication, we have created a timeless vehicle that underscores the position of Mercedes-Maybach as the ultimate luxury brand."
Presumably, this is Maybach's first attempt at an SUV?
Erm... no, not quite. Because, if you think a saloon-SUV with full tea-making facilities in the rear passenger compartment is completely weird and bad enough, then perhaps an AMG-engined, portal-axled, convertible G-Wagen will have you wondering whether you've lost all grip on reality. And whether the power of sight is all it's cracked up to be, either.
Matt Robinson - 24 Apr 2018
