Xenatec to build Maybach Coupe

[Ecnelis]

via autocar.co.uk:

This is the Maybach coupe, a £560,000 limited edition production by German based enginering specialist Xenatec.

The Bentley Brooklands and Roll-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe rival, which will ride on the same underpinnings and be powered by the same engine as the Maybach 57S, is planned to be built in a limited run of 100 cars at the company’s workshop in Weinsberg, Germany.

The project has the blessing of Maybach parent company, Daimler, which has carefully followed the car’s development and will supply built up 57S chassis from its nearby Sindelfingen based manufacturing headquarters.

Depicted here in a series of official sketches issued by Xenatec, the Maybach coupe is set to receive a bespoke body that, while retaining its sedan sibling’s 5730mm length, has been widened considerably to 2180mm and lowered to around 1480mm.

Secrecy surrounds the originator of the new car’s design, although Daimler does not deny its in-house styling department, headed by Gorden Wagener, has had a hand in its contemporary appearance.

The recently reworked grille and front end styling of the facelifted Maybach 57S revealed at the recent Beijing motor show remains but the rakish new coupe boasts more heavily angled windscreen and a B-pillar that has been moved back by 200mm to accommodate longer doors. The C-pillar also extends further back to provide the coupe with a more sporting air.

Powered by the same twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre V12 engine as the Maybach 57S, the new coupe will pack a sturdy 612bhp and 737lb ft of torque. No performance claims have been made for the new car, though Xenatec hints the Maybach coupe won’t give anything away to its more formal saloon sibling, which is claimed to hit 62mph from standstill in 5.0sec and reach a top speed of 171mph.

Supporting the new car is returned air sprung suspension featuring wider tracks and 20-inch wheels aimed at providing it with a more sporting character than today’s Maybach models.

£560k Maybach coupe revealed - Autocar.co.uk
XENATEC Maybach 57S Coupe: High-Res Images, Details - MotorAuthority
Maybach Coupé 57S: Xenatec wandelt den Maybach zum Coupé - auto motor und sport

Xenatec - News

[Ferrer]

I like it, but if Mercedes-Benz was ever serious about Maybach they should've built the Exelero.

[2ndclasscitizen]

Certainly looks a lot better than the sedan.

[demonrunning07]

But it still doesn't have a soul. It still looks like a bigger Benz but with even LESS going on in the styling department. The Maybach styling would even be bland on a car that costs 1/20th of the price. This honestly looks like it could be a Hyundai (its just twice the size).

And what, btw, is this? It's not at all fast compared to a Bentley coupe or any other coupe more than half of what this costs. It doesn't have either the performance of the style of a GT car. Is it a two-door ultra-luxury saloon, then? Who on earth would buy that? Who would spend over a half-million pounds on a luxury saloon in which they would have to tilt their seat forward if they wanted to give a third person a ride?

Maybe then it's for the passionate Maybach enthusiast. But too bad such a thing does not exist. Maybach owners would ride in anyhing with 3 meters of rear legroom (so much as it costs at least twice as much as the average house). That's why they drive a Maybach and not a Bentley ir Rolls Royce. Maybachs, this one included, do not envoke passion.

But the Exelero did...just they never made it. That's the kind of car Maybach should build. Insane styling. Ultra-luxury. Ultra performance. That's what the classic Maybachs, Bentleys and Bugattis were.

[NSXType-R]

I like it, but if Mercedes-Benz was ever serious about Maybach they should've built the Exelero.

Was the Exelero supposed to rival the Buggati, or was it just something separate? Were it to have been built, would be nearly as expensive as the Veyron?

[Matra et Alpine]

Was never planned for production according to a very reliable source

[Ferrer]

Was the Exelero supposed to rival the Buggati, or was it just something separate? Were it to have been built, would be nearly as expensive as the Veyron?

I don't think the Exelero was anything like the über-Corrado. It was complete and mad excess, with no regard for actual practicality or performance or anything really. It'd have been completely different to everything, and therefore much better than the S-Class ELWB the current Maybach actually is.

[Roentgen]

Looks quite nice :-) Xenatec has a habit of making quite drastic changes to cars.

[pimento]

I like it, but if Mercedes-Benz was ever serious about Maybach they should've built the Exelero.

This. Instead we end up with a very fast blob. Yawn...

[demonrunning07]

This. Instead we end up with a very fast blob. Yawn...

This is what I was trying to get at...lol. Only it isn't even that fast. Zero to 60 in 5.0 and a top speed of only 171, any Bentley coupe could smoke that (and in much better style).

[Ferrer]

The problem isn't the speed. A Phantom is much slower and not for that is a worse car. For me if I bought one, the relentless sensation of rip-off and being just a big Merc would rather put me off.

[TVR IS KING]

The fact that, not only is it a big Merc, but it looks like a big Merc. That'd set me off. At least a Rolls looks and feels like something completely different, even if it is mostly BMW.

As for the coupe....I can't stand the sedans, but that's actually sort of nice.

[ScionDriver]

I like the way it looks, I just think it's unnecessary. It will still probably perform like a sedan as it still has a long wheelbase and probably won't shed too much weight.

[PRC777]

it still has a long wheelbase.

This is my sole issue with this coupe. Nothing can make a coupe any more out of proportion than a long wheelbase in my opinion.

[demonrunning07]

Ferrer and TVR,
Yeah. I completely agree.