Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury Comes with a Teapot, Quirky Design

TopSpeed

By Ciprian Florea

Published Apr 24, 2018

Will it make it into production? I hope not!

Mercedes' highly-anticipated Maybach Ultimate Luxury concept just made its debut ahead of the 2018 Beijing Auto Show, and it looks, well... weird. Believed to preview the Maybach version of the upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLS, the Ultimate Luxury concept combines the styling features of an SUV with those of a notchback sedan. Mercedes says that it combines the most successful body styles in China, but it's definitely not the best design exercise out there.

While the vehicle looks somewhat extravagant and borrows a lot from better looking Maybach concepts seen in the recent past, it still looks like a hunchback sedan on stilts. It's as if Maybach wanted to create a competitor for the Rolls-Royce Ghost, but combined the imposing look of a tall beltline and front fascia with a short deck lid and the ride height of a crossover. Something's definitely wrong here.

Thankfully, the interior is a different story with better proportions and cues that make this concept car a worthy rival for a Rolls-Royce vehicle. The dashboard and center console look unlike anything else we've seen in a Mercedes so far, and although it employs the same 12.3-inch displays from the S-Class, the fancy colors and massive ebony wood veneer give it a unique look.

Meant to be chauffeur-driven, the concept features an ultra-luxurious rear-seat area with throne-like seats, flowers, and a wide center console with a heated tray. Also made from ebony, the latter includes a teapot and cups. Now that's something you'd expect to find in a Rolls-Royce, a sign that Maybach is actually thinking about that niche.

An innovative feature here is the touch control concept, described as a combination of touchscreen, touchpad on the center console, and Touch Control buttons on the steering wheel. The system provides an intuitive control experience and reduced driver distraction, but there aren't many details to run by.

Not surprisingly, motivation comes from an all-electric drivetrain. There are four compact electric motors under the shell, which means that the concept benefits from fully variable all-wheel-drive. The motors get their juice from an 80-kWh battery and generate a total system output of 750 horsepower. The range is rated at over 500 km on the NEDC cycle and around 200 miles on EPA estimates. The fast charging system provides a range of 100 km in just five minutes of charging.

It's not yet clear whether Mercedes wants to put this vehicle into production, but it could be used as inspiration for the next Maybach SUV.