ULTIMATE LUXURY
Concept car by Mercedes-Benz Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury
The beauty of concept cars is that designers and automakers don’t have to play by the rules when they create them. By their very nature, concept cars don’t have to be practical, sensible or even functional. At all. Some production cars wind up being virtual carbon copies of the concept cars they’re based on, but that’s rare. Other concept cars are so far out there that it would be hard to imagine a real production version ever making it to market. And that brings us to the latest and possibly greatest concept vehicle from Mercedes-Benz. The vehicle in question is called the Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury and it’s truly remarkable. Introduced at the recent Auto China 2018 show in Beijing, the half-sedan/ half-utility body might not be to everyone’s taste, as it is nowhere near as sleek and flowing as some of Mercedes-Benz’s most stylish production cars, let alone its forebears in the concept department. But beauty is only skin deep, and what’s underneath the body is what matters. This Mercedes-Maybach was designed primarily to be chauffeur driven, so it’s the rear-seat area that gets the most attention. The passenger compartment features two huge reclining bucket seats that look big enough to fit in a living room. The backrests are adjustable, as are the seat angles and heights. Calf supports can be tweaked for length and angle, and knee cushions are standard. The entire interior is a sea of white leather with contrasting dark wood trim; the Nappa leather seat upholstery is done up in a diamond pattern, with perforations in rose gold. The star of the show is the wide centre console between the two rear bucket seats. The console comes with a built-in heated tray, complete with a teapot and cups. The tea service fits neatly into what MercedesBenz refers to as the “Magic Wood” ebony tray, similar to a concept used in Chinese furniture design. When not in use, the tea service can be electrically retracted into the console and hidden by a sliding cover. You won’t find that in an entry-level C-Class sedan. Why a tea set? “The philosophy of tea plays a key role in bringing body and mind into balance while discovering the path to inner calm and vitality,” Mercedes-Benz said in a press release. The Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury is an all-electric vehicle, powered by four compact motors that propel its fully variable all-wheel-drive system. The four motors produce 750 horsepower and provide a range of more than 200 miles (320 km/h) on a charge. Top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h. Using the vehicle’s fast-charging function, enough power can be added in just five minutes to get another 100 kilometres or so of range. The batteries can be recharged either at fast-charging stations, with normal household current or wirelessly from a charger mounted on the floor beneath the vehicle. Will the Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury ever see the light of day in production, either in China, where it was introduced, or around the globe? Mercedes-Benz isn’t saying. But if nothing else, it’s a compelling example of the what the automaker can create when it wants to push the boundaries of design and technology.