Mercedes has chosen the Beijing Motor Show to show off its latest concept car. Named the Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury, it’s a jacked-up, three-box saloon with SUV styling cues that hides a Tesla-rivalling 740bhp all-electric powertrain.
The Vision SUV takes its design from previous Vision concepts – that means sleek, curving lines and an enormous, glitzy front grille with a Maybach bonnet ornament above. There’s a chrome styling line that runs the full length of the vehicle and in a pleasingly retro touch, bisects the rear window.
The Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury, just presented at Auto China, shows how the typical strengths of an exclusive high-end saloon and an SUV can be combined. Let this short video guide you through the key facts! #AutoChina #MercedesMaybach pic.twitter.com/S5KQIL2Bs3
— Mercedes-Benz (@MercedesBenz) April 24, 2018
To further distance the car from just looking like a high-riding saloon, Mercedes has added black plastic cladding around the wheel arches and hefty chrome scuff plates on the bumpers.
Car culture in China is disproportionately focussed on saloons, hence Mercedes’ decision to give the car a three-box silhouette.
Mercedes says that the Vision SUV is primarily intended to be chauffeur-driven – another nod to Chinese culture, where most of the upper-classes wouldn’t dream of driving themselves. The interior therefore is trimmed with adjustable rear seats, as in the S-Class luxury saloon, with a wide centre console featuring an integrated tea service.
Up front, the Vision SUV benefits from Mercedes’ latest driver tech, including twin 12.3-inch displays for driver information and controlling the in-car entertainment.
Under the skin lies a 740bhp electric powertrain, which sends torque to all four wheels. It claims a theoretical maximum range of 311 miles on a charge, while top speed is limited to 155mph.
The Mercedes-Maybach Vision SUV Concept is unlikely to see production in its current form – as with previous Vision concepts, it’s more a display of intention. In the future, we can therefore expect to see Mercedes-Maybach launching a hyper-luxury SUV inspired by this concept, to rival the likes of the Bentley Bentayga and upcoming Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
“The Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury is a totally new archetype of a kind never seen before,” says Gorden Wagener, chief design officer at Mercedes’ parent company Daimler AG. “Our concept combines the DNA of an SUV with that of a saloon to produce an ultra-modern SUV of three-box design.
“With sensuality and pure sophistication, we have created a timeless vehicle that underscores the position of Mercedes-Maybach as the ultimate luxury brand.”