Radical Maybach EV off-road lux coupe oozes fashion DNA

Few would have seen this coming: a retro-infused two-seater, two-door limousine designed to tackle some seriously rough terrain.

Project Maybach was created in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz design boss Gorden Wagoner and Louis Vuitton artistic director Virgil Abloh, who died last weekend.

As the uber-luxury sub-brand of Mercedes-Benz designed to take on Rolls-Royce – Maybach was previously a standalone brand but struggled for cut-through – Maybach is pitched as the pinnacle of luxury.

And the Project Maybach show car was “inspired by the great outdoors and recontextualising a traditionally urban brand within a distinctly off-road environment”.

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The Project Maybach is powered purely by electricity, although Mercedes-Maybach hasn’t disclosed its EV specifications, instead ensuring the focus of the lengthy coupe is on the design and detail touches.

That starts with a clear bonnet that has solar panels incorporated to capture some of the sun’s energy for later use.

It’s almost six metres long with gran turismo proportions – with a l-o-o-n-g bonnet – but lashings of extras you’d usually see in a hard core off-roader.

There are BF Goodrich tyres, wheel arch flares with exposed rivets, rock rails down each side and a solid skid plate under the nose to shield from any hits with nature.

The roof is surrounded by metal bars that incorporate a solid roof rack and there are spot lights added to improved visibility.

Maybach logos have been built into the LED lights front and rear.

Inside there’s a clear design focus with rich materials in a tan finish.

But the off-road focus lives on with some of the touches. A Maybach-branded axe built into the door jam is stored behind a glass cover with a warning it is for “emergency use only”.

While the side windows are slim there’s a panoramic sunroof to allow more light in.

Heavily ribbed seats and retro metal dials dominate.

And seatbelts appear to be old school lap-only ones built into the chunky seats.

In saying the Project Maybach was created to “inspire the next generation” and “forever question the status quo”, Mercedes-Maybach released a statement adding: “Mercedes-Benz is devastated to hear of the passing of Virgil Abloh. Our sincere thoughts are with Virgil’s family and teams.  Now opening the world of our collaboration, and Virgil’s unique vision, to the public we want to respectfully celebrate the work of a truly unique design talent, who created endless possibilities for collaboration through his unbridled imagination and inspired all that knew his work.”  Mercedes-Benz AG.

What’s more interesting with the Project Maybach is how another car company is at least dreaming of a sporty machine that can also trudge over rough terrain.

In 2019 Lamborghini created the Hurracan Sterrato as an idea of how its classic mid-engined supercar could look when designed for rally roads.

In 2018 Nissan created the all-electric Gripz show car that combined some Z-car-inspired styling in a high-riding two-door body.

And American EV startup Alpha created the Jax that it eventually plans to produce.

And, of course, Porsche has infused some light duty off-road ability into its Taycan with the Cross Turismo. While it’s a four-door, it’s still a high performance car at heart, but one that looks to more rugged terrain than your average Porsche has been designed for.