Autoblog

God....damn

I am pleased that Maybach has been such a failure.

I am too, if only because they never offered a real product. They offered pimped-out S-classes and priced them the same as a Rolls, and hoped they'd sell. If they'd offered real exclusive products, then I'd be sorry to see them fail the way they did. That said, this is pretty cool, and I'm going to the motorshow this month so I'll probably see it.

I do like this much better than the standard 62, moe pretty much summed it up.

Why don't they make the exelero instead of this?

It's a convertible limo! They took Richard Hammond's idea.

Luckily they didn't take James May's idea and join two Maybachs together end to end. But this one is still pathetic.

They'd actually sell that. Some people actually were so desperate as to buy a copy of the concept for around $5,000,000 if I'm not mistaken.

Still, a pimped-out S-Class has got to be better than a Bentley Arnage. I've never seen a car so universally bashed in reviews as the Arnage. Terrible handling, massive turbo lag (with an engine of that size???), and a glove compartment that falls open when the car hits a speed bump or pothole...really nothing but prestige in its favor.

The Arnage is not a good car but the Continental Flying Spur, Rolls-Royce Phantom, etc. are all good, and all have more character in their hood ornaments than an entire Maybach does.

Your missing the point of the Arnage. For some, the Continentals are just pimped-out VWs, whereas the Arnage is a proper Bentley warts and all. While I do love the Continental Flying Spur, I'm not going to deny the fact that Arnage has a lot more character. Continentals are also everywhere, whereas the Arnage is something truly special. It's an acquired taste, and even Bentley knows it's not for everyone. Hence the Continental Flying Spur. It's not a great car, but I think the automotive world would be a gloomier place without it.

You gotta get yourself out of such uber-wealthy countries for a while. I've seen one Continental in my life. It was in our client parking lot, and all the associates got together to stare out the window and ask whose client that was.

Anyway, I hear what you're saying, but I just thought the phrase was funny.

Hahaha. Yeah man, I see at least one Continental per day. I see an Arnage every day too, but that hardly counts...it's the same one everyday in the university parking lot.

ive never seen anything nicer rarer than a 1980something lambo.

Wow...what extreme extravagance. While I disagree with a lot of their models over the years, at least Bently/Rolls work on making their cars with character. Maybach is just big and gaudy and .



You're just on the other end of the spectrum--I see Continentals quite frequently, a long with a bunch of other expensive cars from week to week. Midwest thing?

??? I'm two hour's drive from the Pacific Ocean...but if you mean "primarily blue collar and somewhat rural" by "midwest," yes.

It was just a design exercise wasn't it?

Yea, here in Atlanta the Continentals are relatively common sights for an exotic including if you are driving past...who am I kidding, including if you are going to a strip club.

Haha oops. I should've checked my facts.

From what I remember, it was a one off for fulda, which is a tyre company, to high-speed test their new tyres. Also, I think Maybach did a streamliner in the same spirit as the exelero back in the old days.

It was for Fulda by students:
A one-off custom-built Maybach was unveiled in May 2005 at the Tempodrom in Berlin. Commissioned by tyre company Fulda, the Exelero is a chopped-down two-seater coupe, though it's more than just a show car - in tests at the Nardo high-speed oval, the prototype reached a speed of 218.38mph, despite weighing over 2.66 tonnes. It is capable of acceleration from 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds.

The car's design was the result of a competition amongst students at the Pforzheim Polytechnic Department of Transport Design, which has worked on show vehicles for Fulda in the past. The design of 24-year-old Fredrik Burchhardt was chosen, and his work was co-ordinated with that of the Maybach design centre in Sindelfingen. The project, based on the Maybach 57 limousine, required a certain amount of re-engineering; the A-pillar and doors had to be shifted rearwards, and the steering column, pedals and gearshift all re-located. The standard 550bhp V12 engine was bored out to 5.9 litres, and tuned for 700bhp and over 738lb ft of torque. With final dimensions of 5890mm long, 2140mm wide and just 1390mm high, the car was kitted out with a full-spec interior, including leather, neoprene, aluminium and carbonfibre finishes.

Maybach says the car, built by Stola in Turin, is "a one-off vehicle created to showcase the new ultra-high performance Exelero tyre range from leading tyre manufacturer Fulda"; it's not the first time the two companies have teamed up, as back in 1938 Fulda demonstrated its tyres on a Maybach SW 38 limousine. There are, however, "no plans to produce the model in series", though it has been certified for on-road use.

How does a one-off convertible show off a new tire?!

It was a coupe.

Because every time the car was mentioned, the tire company was mentioned.

15 minutes from Manhattan, I see a Flying Spur almost everyday. Porsches are as common as Camrys. And the 3 series is the most common car.

Sounds like here...except the most common car is the 5-series. Though from a statistic BMW issued, they sell more 7s that 5s, and more 5s than 3s. So I dunno why I see more 5s on the street.

The tyres were tested on this car - READ!

READ!

??? That's got to be backward. I thought the 3-Series was BMW's best-selling car. Or is that just a regional statistic?

Regional statistic, sorry I didn't make that clear.

This ends now.

I'd just like to add that the Exelero is one of the most badass cars ever designed. Thanks.