In February this year, Mercedes-Benz released images and details of the company's then forthcoming limited edition Maybach G650 Landaulet, a car with preposterous specifications. The luxury mastodon has a curb weight of 7300 pound, is more than five meters long and two meters high, with half a meter of ground clearance, and four wheels sharing responsibility for distributing 1000 Nm of torque. The 630 hp AMG V12 biturbo engine inspired New Atlas' Scott Collie to pen an article entitled Off-road absurdity, thy name is Maybach G650 Landaulet.
A month later, after the Maybach was shown on the Mercedes-Benz stand at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, the entire allocation of 98 vehicles, priced at €630,000 + VAT had been sold. That is, inside a week, a small corner of the Mercedes stand had sold approximately $90 million dollars worth of the Maybach G650 Landaulets.
Just as Land Rover has its tradition-steeped devotees, so too does the Mercedes G Series. If accusations of the outdatedness of the 1979 design can be levelled at the G-Series, Land Rover's similarly "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" clientele have been worshipping the Landy for a few decades longer.
As with the Land Rover, there are many examples of outlandish Mercedes G Series special editions, but the Maybach Landaulet is the most sumptuous that comes from the factory.
Many automotive couturiers of note will customize a G-Series for you, with the best known being Mansory's offerings above. Look closely and you'll see that some of the variants come with carbon fiber body panels.
One of the 99 Maybach G650 Landaulets produced was held back by Mercedes-Benz, and will be auctioned by Bonhams on the weekend of October 6 during the Zoute Grand Prix in Knokke, Belgium. The Zoute automotive heritage event is one of the stars of the global classic car calendar, and includes a Bonhams auction of elite automobiles.
All proceeds from the Maybach G650 Landaulet auction will go to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
The Laureus Sport for Good charity was founded in 2000 in response to Nelson Mandela's declaration at the Laureus World Sports Award that "sport has the power to change the world," and as a long-time supporter of the charity, Mercedes-Benz is using the fast-emerging new car charity auction publicity route to add what is expected to be more than one million dollars to the charitiy's coffers with the off-road Landaulet.
The ultimate "glamper", the Maybach G650 Landaulet off-road limousine is expected to fetch in excess of its €630,000 + VAT European price, and given that Bonhams has pledged to forgo its fees in support of the auction, the oversubscribed Maybach might well break a few records.
If the outside of the Maybach Mercedes G650 Landaulet is impressive, the interior is moreso. It is designed to offer the ultimate in functionality and comfort for those being chauffeur driven.
The massive isolated cabin can be configured as required, from open air ...
to fully enclosed for dry and dusty long haul travel.
As outrageous as it might be, the Maybach is unlikely to break the new car auction record set by RM-Sothebys in October 2016 for the last LaFerrari – the car fetched $7 million.
Source: Mercedes-Benz