Photo: Daimler
What does the world need right now? A new type of SUV, apparently. That's right, the endless list of more or less obviously raised vehicles that make up the pool of SUVs, SAVs, CUVs, crossovers, and everything in between needs one more entry, and Daimler's Mercedes-Maybach seems ready to oblige.
You might remember the Mercedes-Maybach Vision Ultimate Luxury concept - it was big and red and had a massive chromed grille, so it's probably still imprinted somewhere on your retina, despite launching two and a half years ago. The lifted limo did not receive the SUL - Sports Utility Limousine - acronym right away, but Daimler did start to tout it around shortly after.
You might be inclined to think it's a bit daft at a first glance, but think about it for a second: who and when decided that high-riding off-road vehicles need to have a two-body volume - or a bed at the back if they insist on a three-volume one? Isn't that a bit arbitrary? Of course, a wagon body has more room than a sedan with the same footprint, and since SUVs have the word "utility" in their name, it makes sense to veer toward practicality.
However, the SUL Daimler has in mind has nothing to do with "utility" and a lot to do with "luxury", and do be so kind as to tell us how many luxury station wagons you can think of. None? That's what we thought. There are plenty of extravagant SUVs out there - Bentley and Rolls-Royce, to name the top two - and Mercedes-Maybach is no stranger to the concept with its GLS-Class, but imagine for a second the impact something like the Vision Ultimate Luxury would have. Coupe SUVs? Ha, that's so last year.
Apparently, the Mercedes-Maybach Vision Ultimate Luxury is happening, one way or the other. According to some inside sources that German publication Handelsblatt has access to, Daimler is ready to pull the trigger on the whole SUL class, and the Maybach concept seems like the most likely candidate.
Only two questions remain now: what kind of powertrain will the Mercedes-Maybach SUL use? The concept had an all-electric one with four motors delivering copious amounts of power (though nobody was able to test it since the vehicle had to be treated as a glass egg), so something similar would make sense. That means the Maybach family might be in for a double-debut: first BEV and first SUL, all in one.
The second question has nothing to do with Mercedes-Maybach, but with the rest of the industry. How long do you think it will take the competition to fight back and fill this newly created niche just like it happened with the coupe SUVs back when BMW launched the X6? Our guess is it won't be that simple, but the Mercedes-Maybach SUL won't be alone on the market for long.
You might be inclined to think it's a bit daft at a first glance, but think about it for a second: who and when decided that high-riding off-road vehicles need to have a two-body volume - or a bed at the back if they insist on a three-volume one? Isn't that a bit arbitrary? Of course, a wagon body has more room than a sedan with the same footprint, and since SUVs have the word "utility" in their name, it makes sense to veer toward practicality.
However, the SUL Daimler has in mind has nothing to do with "utility" and a lot to do with "luxury", and do be so kind as to tell us how many luxury station wagons you can think of. None? That's what we thought. There are plenty of extravagant SUVs out there - Bentley and Rolls-Royce, to name the top two - and Mercedes-Maybach is no stranger to the concept with its GLS-Class, but imagine for a second the impact something like the Vision Ultimate Luxury would have. Coupe SUVs? Ha, that's so last year.
Apparently, the Mercedes-Maybach Vision Ultimate Luxury is happening, one way or the other. According to some inside sources that German publication Handelsblatt has access to, Daimler is ready to pull the trigger on the whole SUL class, and the Maybach concept seems like the most likely candidate.
Only two questions remain now: what kind of powertrain will the Mercedes-Maybach SUL use? The concept had an all-electric one with four motors delivering copious amounts of power (though nobody was able to test it since the vehicle had to be treated as a glass egg), so something similar would make sense. That means the Maybach family might be in for a double-debut: first BEV and first SUL, all in one.
The second question has nothing to do with Mercedes-Maybach, but with the rest of the industry. How long do you think it will take the competition to fight back and fill this newly created niche just like it happened with the coupe SUVs back when BMW launched the X6? Our guess is it won't be that simple, but the Mercedes-Maybach SUL won't be alone on the market for long.
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