“Why not?”
The Vision Maybach Ultimate Luxury is one of the most unusual Mercedes concepts we have seen in recent years. The unusually-shaped showcar, which was presented at Auto China Beijing last year, was an SUV with sedan cues. The concept was inspired by the GLS previous generation, but it was designed to be an electric all-wheel drive concept with four motors generating a staggering 738 horsepower.
Talking with Auto Express, Mercedes’ Andreas Zygan was the man in charge for SUV development. He was asked if the Vision Ultimate Maybach Luxe would be put into production. We believe that it will happen in the future, based on Zygan’s surprising answer of “Why not?” Zygan said that it all boils down to customer demand. Mercedes is currently in a “very intense discussion” about whether there’s a business case for part SUV, part. sedan vehicle.
The interview’s main topic was not Vision Maybach Ultimate Luxury. It was the all-new GLS, which was introduced at the New York Auto Show. Zygan said that an AMG version of the full-size SUV is in development. This is not surprising considering it has been tested in a hot “63” specification.
Although a Maybach-branded luxury version is not yet approved for production, it is likely that this will soon be. Our spies captured the GLS in the Maybach grille and have already taken the picture. A recent report claims that the model has been approved and will be built at the Alabama plant. The Mercedes-Maybach GLS, if true, will be the most expensive vehicle built in the United States. It is expected to start at $200,000, which is roughly $42,500 less than the Acura NSX, the current most expensive car made in the United States.
Zygan also denied the possibility of an electric GLS in the same interview. He stated that the company’s platform was not designed to support such a powertrain. Zygan explained that the demand for such a powertrain would not justify the company’s costs and he was the reason behind the company’s decision.
The regular GLS, a.k.a. The “S-Class SUVs” will be available in the United States before the end of the year.