AutoExpress - Mercedes Ocean Drive First Drive!

[Merc1]

Arguably the biggest wow factor of all is reserved for rear passengers, though. At the touch of a button, the centre armrest folds out between the two rear seats. Press another on the end of the armrest, and a cover drops down to reveal a pair of champagne flutes and a mini bottle of bubbly sliding out on a horizontal tray, ready to toast your fine vehicle choice.

Opening and closing the hood takes a swift 20 seconds in either direction. And occupants will feel supremely comfortable in either mode – due in part to Mercedes’ Airscarf heating system, which wafts hot air on to their necks by way of small vents in the headrests. All of this adds up to a very special car. If Mercedes does decide to make it, we’re sure that there will be plenty of rich attention seekers who will want to be seen cruising along Miami’s Ocean Drive and other playboy hotspots around the world in this luxury drop-top.

Short videos of various features:

[url]http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/videos/featuresvideos/206869/video_200323/mercedes_ocean_drive.html[/URL]

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/videos/featuresvideos/206869/video_200321/mercedes_ocean_drive.html

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/videos/featuresvideos/206869/video_200322/mercedes_ocean_drive.html

The Ocean Drive looks as if it’s a car that could go into production tomorrow. It has few outlandish concept features inside or out, and it would pose a strong challenge to luxury drop-top rivals from Bentley and Rolls-Royce. What’s more, Mercedes has a history of making this kind of bespoke car – the historical forerunner to the latest concept is the 300d Cabriolet, which was built to order up until 1962.

Full Article:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/206934/mercedes_ocean_drive.html

I think it is just a matter of time before this car becomes a production reality. However if that does happen it will likely spell the end for Maybach. If Mercedes is going to take the Mercedes-Benz brand to this high of a level (competing with Rolls and Bentley) then what could possibly be in store for Maybach?

M

 

[LaArtist]

Wow check out them videos..im starting to like this car..
its uber cool..
just make it more normall..and put it into production
atleast it looks better than the Robo Boat ( RR )

 

[RICHBOY]

I'm starting to dig it a little more myself, however the pull out COMMAND seems a little like over kill.

 

[GrimReaper]

Honestly I had liked this car from the beginning except for a few details here and there. I would be more than happy if they just ended up killing the Maybach brand in its entirety and start manufacturing Mercedes branded high-end vehicles because I honestly feel that Mercedes has the brand value and heritage to carry that persona.

 

[RICHBOY]

Honestly I had liked this car from the beginning except for a few details here and there. I would be more than happy if they just ended up killing the Maybach brand in its entirety and start manufacturing Mercedes branded high-end vehicles because I honestly feel that Mercedes has the brand value and heritage to carry that persona.

I'm not sure if people are ready to shell out $350,000 for a Mercedes in this segment. I like Maybach and in time it will be a bigger player in this segment and might even give Bentley and RR a run for their money.

 

[bmer]

Wow check out them videos..im starting to like this car..
its uber cool..
just make it more normall..and put it into production
atleast it looks better than the Robo Boat ( RR )

LOL Artist, It hink you're trying too hard to like this car. No matter how much the RR looks like a hybrid between a yacht and a robot, it would be just fooling ourselves to say that this design-wisely half-finished car looks better. And those features don't look very useful, IMO they look almost pointless. Like what extra value are those door handles supposed to give compared to normal ones?

 

[LaArtist]

^its a concept.. so those things wont make it..so they are just cool..nothing more..probably useless like you say..

and about the design thats your opinion
imo none of the 2 look very good.. but i prefere the MB as its not a robot yacht..lol.. and it doesent look like its leanin back like fat joe..

so im sorry dude.. it does look better.. but still not good enough for me..

 

[Kowalski]

If Mercedes put this car into production, and I hope they do. They (Mercedes-Benz) will once again set a new trend of cars. It will be a matter of short time, until Bentley come-up with a 4-door version of the Azure.

 

[LaArtist]

^yep yep.. thats why i belive this car has potentiall..if they can clean it up abit..it should rock..
and we all know that MB arent strangers to bringing new trends..

 

[GTA45E]

Killer photos!! just awesome. This concept looks really good with the top up or down, it`s almost coupe-like. I hope the production-versions doesn`t stray too far away from this beauty! I`m a true fan!

 

[Centurion]

Launching this car under the Maybach brand would be a perfect way to give the brand a fresh new start. Off course then they would also have to design the design of the car inside and out in order to make it a unique 400k car.

 

[Merc1]

What you all wanna bet that they make an announcement about this car going to production before the end of the year? I say in about 18-24 months we'll all be sitting here talking about having driven and/or seen one our local MB dealerships. We all know MB will clean it up some to make it production feasible so the door handles will be gone, but the motorized interior bits might stay. My only conern is structural rigidity. Mercedes is the best at building rigid convertibles and I don't want to see that compromised.

M

 

[bum-man]

My only conern is structural rigidity. Mercedes is the best at building rigid convertibles and I don't want to see that compromised.

M

Here's your answer:

"The hotline to Germany notwithstanding, the only short-term solution proved to be fixed spacers to set the proper ride height, so the Ocean Drive effectively had no suspension travel at all. Riding on rubbery stand-ins rather than a cushion of air limited safe driving to just 25 mph, about the kind of speed you'd expect in a one-off art project instead of a production prototype.

Ironically, this happenstance only better demonstrated the incredible structural rigidity of the Ocean Drive's reinforced S600 chassis. In and out of driveways, over pavement dips and Bott's dots alike, the Ocean Drive didn't jiggle, rattle, moan or groan. Like a production car wearing too-tall wheels with too-short sidewalls, the four-door convertible gently idled through the sunbathed rolling hills near the Pacific Ocean in what we expect will one day be its future natural habitat."

BTW you posted the article.

 

[Merc1]

Yeah I made that statement before I saw the Edmunds article. I think production of this car is done deal. I can't see how they wouldn't build it. It has the potential to turn the high-end market on its ear.

M

 

[bmer]

so im sorry dude.. it does look better.. but still not good enough for me..

OK, I guess I can't get you over your blind love towards MB. I'm just saying it looks almost like a sketch with the unfinished front and thus can't be compared to a production vehicle like the Drophead Coupé.

 

[SDNR]

You guys might think this is an odd thing to say. But I think the ODC has quite a 1930s Art Déco look about it -- much like some of the buildings around Ocean Drive. It reminds me of the 1950s style too.

Toy Car from the 1930s.


It is a very Post-Modern design ....I like it but at the same time I find it to be slightly out-of-step with current design trends ... it looks more like it might have been from the late 1980s

I am [very] vaguely reminded of this bizarre Rolls-Royce

 

[Pagani]

I truly wish MB figures out a solution to give this car a hard folding top made of some light material, and give it a 700 hp AMG V12 to boot. Then it will properly become the overtly ostentatious car it seeks to be.

I also think this car signals the demise of the Maybach as a standalone brand. We may soon see a Maybach by Mercedes type stable, a Z Class so to speak in MB hierarchy, where the engineers will go crazy with stuff they could not afford to put in production even in a Mercedes S.

 

[LaArtist]

OK, I guess I can't get you over your blind love towards MB.

I hope you realise that i can say the same about you and your bmw love

but imma let it slide this time.. enjoy..haha

 

[Pagani]

Looks like Maybach lives to see another day. New generation of the 57 and 62 are already underway, with the engineers having understood that their styling efforts need to be more bespoke this time.

I also am almost 100 percent sure the OD will be brought to market shortly. I predict at the Sept. 07 show in Frankfurt. SLC 600 may be a potential first model to debut.

Also, a hardtop version of the OD is bound to be planned under the Maybach brand, a CLS to the S Class so to speak, to fend off the renewed offensive of upscale four door coupes from BMW's CS and Aston Martin's Rapide. the CLS does a good enough job to dispense of players such as Porsche Panamera and Jag's entry sometimes into the future.

Oh, and did I mention i think we are also going to see Excelero into production in just a couple of years?

Anyways, my sugar high is done with now!

 

[Centurion]

Looks like Maybach lives to see another day. New generation of the 57 and 62 are already underway, with the engineers having understood that their styling efforts need to be more bespoke this time.

Any sources or are you just speculating?