May Be

How was it possible to fail with Maybach? Easiest business in the world - luxurious, ultra high-tech car with serious tradition and solid brand, it should have become a respectable rival for RR, its sole competitor. With Mercedes experience, with only one competitor, think of it, and such a disaster! The sales are much lower than planned, the publicity is even worse than sales. Still, their are trying to heal it, and they've just made the strangest model yet. It's interesting - instead of changing style a bit and trying to find something fresh, they followed strictly their own style, which made Maybach what it is now - the overinvested, unprofitable and underestimated Dubai-roller. Although the initial concept of Maybach car failed, they executed it once more, and much more radically than ever. Isn't it kinda suicidual, or even romantic? It undoubtedly is, when it comes to design - because the new Maybach Landaulet is really an XIXth century idea. The driver and passenger seats are splitted, what takes you directly to the master and servants era. The very heart of this idea is that you can open the rear part of the roof, which is totally a Versaille-style. Is it really so awful, like the journalists say? Think of it - the mechanical form of a horse carriage, a Belle Epoque limo. You can't see such a car often nowadays. The Landaulet revives the old days of luxury cars, the pre-war chassis builders - it really is something interesting. Of course, it's still a Maybach 62, so it isn't very beautiful. What's worse and disgusting, it's suspiciously similar to the S-Class Mercedes. If you don't like the Maybach cars, you can easily find a vast of reasons. But being honest, there's really some idea behind this strange open limousine. It's deeply submerged into motoring heritage and tradition; it express the idea of ultimate luxury like no one has expressed since Hispano-Suiza era. Maybe, it's not only an interesting and eccentric vehicle. It's a sign, that someone in Mercedes/Maybach started to think what they're are actually doing. Not only redesigning the S Pullman models, but - thinking about it. It's hard to fall in love in Maybach Landaulet, but it may be the first proper built Maybach. A car with a story behind it, with an aristocratic origin; it's a old-school idea of super-richness. Made not for profit, but in the sake of impressive look and shocking other people and making them angry and envious. Being a such, it may be the first Maybach with purpose.