Maybach 57/62 (W240/V240) Maybach 62 S Landaulet Concept

[Merc1]

I like. Still need to see it another color, but I guess they've only built one so far.

M

 

[justanthony]

The roof is very impressive but God i wish they would kill this maybach generation already. Can't seriously believe they've kept it this long! Looking at the pics again just reminds me of the w220. In 2008! Just ask 'em in Australia!
I think they should have saved this roof system for the new model. Especially before bmw copies/innovates it.
Soz but for me this current maybach just has to go. Now!

 

[Bartek S.]

Press Release

At the 2008 Detroit Autoshow, for the first time in America, Maybach presents a masterpiece of advanced technology which re-enlivens the great art of building majestic automobiles: the open-top Maybach Landaulet Study. True to the tradition of exclusive landaulets, the roof of this sparkling white one-off study can be opened fully at the rear, while in the chauffeur’s compartment it remains completely closed. The passengers are then able to enjoy the clear, blue sky above. Seated in opulent armchairs upholstered in white leather, in an environment of utmost luxury and exquisite style, the pampered passengers are treated to a majestic open-air experience currently unrivalled by any other automobile. Romance close to the heart of nature is harmoniously combined with the ultimate in comfort and technological sophistication. Here Maybach is once again demonstrating its expertise in building the world’s most exclusive luxury limousines.
In the Landaulet Study, with painstaking craftsmanship, Maybach has created an open-top car whose standing well exceeds that of a conventional convertible, and which represents the pinnacle of true luxury. Appropriately it could serve as a regal carriage for crowned heads or underscore the status of very successful and wealthy persons who value a distinguished, authentic style.
Landaulet Study is Maybach’s response to customer requests


The Maybach brand name epitomises high-end luxury motoring. It stands for effortlessly superior automotive engineering at the very highest level, timeless and stylish elegance, and precision craftsmanship. Since approximately two-thirds of Maybach customers wish to tailor their cars exactly to their own tastes and ideas, Maybach is constantly expanding its exclusive range of customisation options.
In fact, the study was prompted by the clientele of Maybach, for whom the landaulet retains the aura of the grand carriages of days gone by. Experts understand the landaulet to be an automobile whose front section has a solid roof, but whose rear has a folding top to allow the distinguished passengers to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Landaulets formerly were often used as parade cars in which the occupants could present themselves to the people at the roadside. However, security considerations have largely relieved the landaulet of this function today.

Of course, this has not detracted from the legends which surround landaulet automobiles. Chauffeur-driven cars by nature, even today they still are ranked among the top products of the car-maker’s art. This applies to a particular degree to the Maybach study: innovative, high-grade engineering, extraordinary comfort and a luxurious ambience clearly place this Landaulet a cut above even the luxury car segment. This is down in part to select, valuable materials, large amounts of which specialists incorporate into the vehicle with meticulous attention to detail and craftsmen’s skill. They include white nappa leather of highest quality and exquisite black granite as well as brilliant piano lacquer for trim parts. The Maybach Landaulet study might best be compared to luxurious super-yachts - exquisitely beautiful and valuable masterpieces that combine sophisticated technology and exotic materials with a close-up experience of nature, which addresses all the senses, and take their owners far away from the conventional.
http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080113.010/mini7/maybach-landaulet-study-shows-up-in-detroithttp://www.worldcarfans.com/9080113.010/mini8/maybach-landaulet-study-shows-up-in-detroithttp://www.worldcarfans.com/9080113.010/mini9/maybach-landaulet-study-shows-up-in-detroithttp://www.worldcarfans.com/9080113.010/mini10/maybach-landaulet-study-shows-up-in-detroit
http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080113.010/mini11/maybach-landaulet-study-shows-up-in-detroithttp://www.worldcarfans.com/9080113.010/mini12/maybach-landaulet-study-shows-up-in-detroithttp://www.worldcarfans.com/9080113.010/mini13/maybach-landaulet-study-shows-up-in-detroit
http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080113.010/maybach-landaulet-study-shows-up-in-detroit

 

[Merc1]

You know what, this really something special and exclusive and all that, but the brand doesn't have the pull with the rich. There is nothing even close to this in uniqueness right now. Can you imagine this in dark Blue or Black with a dark tan color interior and top stack? I think Maybach can actually have a model in which they'll be able to "sell out" the production run.

M

 

[PanterroR]

Sure they'll sell it when they're making only 20...

 

[Merc1]

I think they can move about 50 of these once it makes the U.S. autoshow rounds.

M

 

[Monster]

Can you imagine this in dark Blue or Black with a dark tan color interior and top stack? I think Maybach can actually have a model in which they'll be able to "sell out" the production run.
M

That will be a killer combination. I just wish Maybach didn't colour code the alloy wheels.

 

[justanthony]

I think they can move about 50 of these once it makes the U.S. autoshow rounds.

M

Ye i agree but that's still paltry sums, even for an ultra low volume seller. Methinks the only reason maybach still breathing is, as Dr Z himself said, its numbers are too small and as such isn't making a big enuff mess of MBs profits ( in other words of course).
Unto the new one!

 

[Merc1]

Ye i agree but that's still paltry sums, even for an ultra low volume seller. Methinks the only reason maybach still breathing is, as Dr Z himself said, its numbers are too small and as such isn't making a big enuff mess of MBs profits ( in other words of course).
Unto the new one!

Oh yes he has said just that a few times now. The big money was spent on promotion, not the Maybachs themselves since they use mainly off the shelf MB parts. The chassis is an updated version of the W140 and the interior, well you know the story...very few "bespoke" parts anywhere outside of the bodypanels. So I could imagine Maybach makes a killing on each car, but they don't sell any...lol.

M

 

[coolraoul]

. So I could imagine Maybach makes a killing on each car, but they don't sell any...lol.
M

Word!

 

[justanthony]

Oh yes he has said just that a few times now. The big money was spent on promotion, not the Maybachs themselves since they use mainly off the shelf MB parts. The chassis is an updated version of the W140 and the interior, well you know the story...very few "bespoke" parts anywhere outside of the bodypanels. So I could imagine Maybach makes a killing on each car, but they don't sell any...lol.

M

But did they REALLY think they'd get away with that??? Or were they just plain old naive? THis really harks back to the original A and M classe fiasco! compared to the rolls this was damn well near brand suicide, moreso as the maybach isn't as established as the rolls. Whatever they come up wif now is gonna have to be really special and even then it will have work cut out.

 

[Merc1]

But did they REALLY think they'd get away with that??? Or were they just plain old naive? THis really harks back to the original A and M classe fiasco! compared to the rolls this was damn well near brand suicide, moreso as the maybach isn't as established as the rolls. Whatever they come up wif now is gonna have to be really special and even then it will have work cut out.

Well yes I think they would have if the brand had been stronger and the styling better. The 2 things that keep Maybach on the porch. The components and the engineering are still first rate and IMO a car like a Maybach 57S is only topped in capability by another Mercedes, namely the S65 AMG. Sure the Rolls is more this and that, but the 57S would wipe the road with it and the Bentley Arnage is an antique compared to either technically. If the styling and/or (take your pick) brand had been stronger Maybach would have been a big fat profit center for Mercedes. Well there is one other mole, the fact that most of the interior is right out of various Mercedes models, that too is a no-no. This would be ok if it weren't so blatantly obvious to the average S-Class owner. The chassis might be derived from the W140, but it was updated with Airmatic, something the W140 never had. Ultimately though they didn't spend enough on interior and styling which they should have considering the money they saved by using all off the shelf parts underneath. Even the engines are off the shelf items. I would have designed an out of this world interior from a design/material standpoint and unique exterior look using the modified W140 as a base, that IMO would have done a whole lot better.

BMW had to design a Rolls from scratch and their effort has finally been rewarded with hitting the stated goal of 1000 units a year. That Maybach will never achieve this with the current lineup is a given.

M

 

[coolraoul]

^^Agree every word. Except that for me the brand is no problem, if the product is good.
Technically, no other car can rival the Maybach. But the styling both inside and outside made it a flop...

The outside is, well, what it is. Funny how they took the rear lights-bar like the W140... The grille is ridiculous, a Benz grille with vertical bars like a Rolls...

But the inside...they have some brilliant things in it like the seats and the roof, but they stopped there, the rest is rather unimaginative and, for the category, rather bland...

Stupid black plastic buttons where an S-Class has aluminium controls everywhere, c'mon...

Really a pity. What were they thinking? I think they thought BMW would update the Seraph a bit and period, and were quite surprised to see the Phantom, and back then it was too late to change the project...

After that, they hesitated between stoppping the MM and beginning again from ground zero, and I don't know if they have the answer yet...

However this Landaulet is quite cool, I like it a lot. It really changes the MM and give it soul, for me.

 

[Merc1]

I think they thought BMW would update the Seraph a bit and period, and were quite surprised to see the Phantom, and back then it was too late to change the project...

After that, they hesitated between stoppping the MM and beginning again from ground zero, and I don't know if they have the answer yet...

Amazing that in all this time I have never thought about that. Maybe they did think BMW would to a Rolls on the cheap, but they must have gotten the shock of their lives when they saw the Phantom. I wonder.


M

 

[coolraoul]

I've just thought to something: the technically better car in the world has a 20 years old 1991 platform, only heavy updated. My question is: why creating new platforms then? The only thing could be weight-saving or maybe recycling...Is it worth the engineering?

I think this is a quite serious question to be ask, don't you? It makes think, at least...

 

[Merc1]

Well some of the basic proportions I would imagine they couldn't change unless they switched to a new platform. The W240 gives away its W140 origins in the long flat, blunt hood and girthy size to name a few. Then there are the hardpoints for the interior like the dash/winshield relationship, hard to change that from what I've seen about car design. Like you say though they did a hella job in updating the old bones. Though their age has been shown by the new W221. The Maybach still doesn't have the latest nav and what not. Neither does the SLR, it still used CDs! They don't sell so Mercedes just says the hell with it I guess.

The biggest mistake of them all was that day during a board meeting they decided to change the whole thing from "Maybach by Mercedes" to launching a whole new brand. The styling was originally drawn up to be a grander Mercedes and that couldn't be changed in time for launch. That decision ranks up there with Acura's decision to change the name of the Legend to the RL here in the U.S. They have never recovered from it.

M

 

[SDNR]

Sure the Rolls is more this and that, but the 57S would wipe the road with it

Technically, no other car can rival the Maybach.

^Wow, some stupid fanboy comments there. The Phantom has consistently been praised for its handling and amazing ridgity due to its state-of-the-art aluminium spaceframe. Sure, the 57S will outpace many sports cars, but thank God BMW realized that a twin-turbo V12 would have been completely wrong for a true Rolls-Royce. Maybe the "baby" Rolls will be more of a performance-orientated car.

Come on guys, the Maybach was built to out-do Bentley -- DCX had no idea how to build the kind of vehicle the Phantom is.

Stupid black plastic buttons where an S-Class has aluminium controls everywhere, c'mon...

The buttons in the Maybach are "piano wood" black laquer.

 

[coolraoul]

The Maybach sure is technically better than the Roller.
Its suspensions are more advanced, and it is nimbler according to the majority of reviews. The Rolls understeers an awful lot when you're a tad too fast. And it takes significantly more bodyroll.

Also the high stature means that it has much more wind noise at high speed than the Maybach. Overall the majorities of reviews reckon the Maybach is even more silent than the Rolls.

Without beeing sure of that, I read somewhere that the Rolls has only one air conditioner, not even automaticly regulated (could be wrong here) whereas the Maybach has three, allowing three really different climate zones. And the fridge also has its own cold motor.

In the Maybach everything is fabulously engineered, better than in the Rolls. (Well not the telematics however.)
Too bad it is not as thoroughly designed...

The Maybach is technically the most advanced, but the package is too bland.
The Arnage is technically outdated, but has such a charm...
The Rolls is almost as advanced as the Maybach, but better (or worse) designed, it is a compromize of the two aspects. Design and technology in one car.
Even if I personally hates the design, it is at last a design, not like the Maybach which has no design at all...

 

[justanthony]

I agree wif Rob? I don't think the rolls is technically inferior to the maybach. And stating its performance ability,well, it's not primarily a sports car is it? Its meant to be an 'UBER' luxurious, exotic executive automobile. Maybach customers are not overly bothered about things they cant see or feel (like platform, 0-60 nos,etc). 3 series owners are. They are ostentatious and must have AND be seen to have the best. Cars like that are statements of class and perceived taste.
Looking at pics of the front again, it's the w220 isn't it. For six times the amount. In one word for me i'll sum up the maybach design as cheesy, for whateva it's technical brilliance is worth! It was simply a very very lazy execution of a poorly conceived project. It's amazing it's not been changed/ dropped. How long has it been since launch now?
C'mon merc, save all ur 'bright' ideas for a better car

 

[SDNR]

The Maybach sure is technically better than the Roller.
Its suspensions are more advanced, and it is nimbler according to the majority of reviews. The Rolls understeers an awful lot when you're a tad too fast. And it takes significantly more bodyroll.

Also the high stature means that it has much more wind noise at high speed than the Maybach. Overall the majorities of reviews reckon the Maybach is even more silent than the Rolls.

Without beeing sure of that, I read somewhere that the Rolls has only one air conditioner, not even automaticly regulated (could be wrong here) whereas the Maybach has three, allowing three really different climate zones. And the fridge also has its own cold motor.

In the Maybach everything is fabulously engineered, better than in the Rolls. (Well not the telematics however.)
Too bad it is not as thoroughly designed...

The Maybach is technically the most advanced, but the package is too bland.
The Arnage is technically outdated, but has such a charm...
The Rolls is almost as advanced as the Maybach, but better (or worse) designed, it is a compromize of the two aspects. Design and technology in one car.
Even if I personally hates the design, it is at last a design, not like the Maybach which has no design at all...

^ The Maybach is not technically the most advanced -- that is totally untrue. In many ways the Phantom is a much more modern car than the Maybach. I have not read reviews that say the Maybach is quieter -- but I'll take your word for it. The Phantom might not handle like a Porsche ...but still, for its size and weight, its is hardly a disgrace.

When all is said and done Amaury, the market has decided who the winner is -- and surely that is the bottom line.

This is the end of the market concerned with dreams and perceptions -- it doesn't really matter which one is the fastest or has the most toys.