Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury Shown off in Beijing

Daimler’s Mercedes-Maybach brand has wrapped some impressive tech into a gaudy looking package.

byTalon Homer|
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While most readers stateside were getting their sleep, the Auto China 2018 show was in full swing at Beijing. Daimler chose this as the venue to officially reveal its Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury SUV concept.

Almost as impressive as the car's convoluted name is its spec sheet. The Vision has four electric motors that put out a combined 750 horsepower to all wheels. Power comes from a battery under the floor that Mercedes says will give it 200-mile range. The company also claim that its fast charging function will be able to charge the battery up to a 60-mile range in only five minutes. Top speed is limited to the German standard of 155 miles per hour.

Based on those numbers, Mercedes-Maybach is bringing to the table an SUV fit to challenge both Tesla's Model X, and Jaguar's I-PACE, and that's great. The styling, on the other hand, may not match the taste of the average crossover buyer. It appears that with the Vision, Daimler is doing a simultaneous homage to a vintage Rolls Royce, and an AMC Eagle 4x4. 

Unlike almost any SUV made in the last 30 years, this Maybach ditches the hatchback in favor of a trunk, giving it the silhouette of a very tall sedan. Then there's the split rear window, which would've looked pretty awkward on its own. The fact that this split then continues all the way up the glass roof is icing on the ugly cake.

"The Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury is a totally new archetype of a kind never seen before," says Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer at Daimler AG. "Our concept combines the DNA of an SUV with that of a sedan to produce an ultramodern SUV of three-box design. With sensual and pure sophistication, we have created a timeless vehicle that underscores the position of Mercedes-Maybach as the ultimate luxury brand."

If this vehicle comes to production, it'll be just the thing for the G Wagen buyer who suddenly decides to be environmentally conscious. I just hope they make the styling a little less extreme.

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