Following on the heels of the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 that we saw at Pebble Beach in 2016, images of the new Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury SUV concept leaked today ahead of the 2018 Beijing Auto Show. And it is large. Massive. Vast. Colossal.
The images were first brought to light by CarNewsChina, which called it “daring” and “beautiful.” We’re going to have to respectfully disagree, sir! Admittedly, the wheels are cool in a turbine way, but the rest of the car is just too bloated and big to discern. Like something that had died in a swamp somewhere.
And when I got to the back, I shouted. What are those lines? On a clean example of a pre-war luxo sedan, it looks great, but on this hulking beast, it’s unacceptable.
And that’s the problem: There is simply too much car. The proportions are fine, but would definitely work better on a modern compact sedan, something the size of a Neon and sold as an entry-level Mercedes. That’d be nice.
Anyway, we don’t have any official stats on the Ultimate Luxury SUV, but CarNewsChina says that we can expect the production version in 2020, powered by a twin-turbo V8 with 500 horsepower. Autocar, however, reports that the Vision version is an electric car with all-wheel drive and a combined power output of 738 HP. It’s unclear which powertrain the production version will have.
This SUV makes sense for the Chinese market, especially if it winds up being electric. Luxo-barges are popular with ultra-affluent Chinese customers and I guess the larger the... better? Sure.
At least the interior looks nice.