Maybach Landaulet study

By Ben Pulman

First Official Pictures

02 November 2007 11:50

Oh dear…

Don’t worry, it’s still just a concept so it may never happen. Actually it will. This is the Maybach Landaulet study, due to be unveiled in Dubai later this month, and it’ll go into production at the start of 2008. The price? A fair way over the £345,687 you'll currently pay for a 62S. It’s basically a convertible 62S, but the roof is definitely an afterthought. The passengers have to request the chauffeur to close it, and the retracted roof has to be manually covered. At least it closes in a quite spritely 16 seconds.

It’s not. The roof retracts over the passenger compartment, while the chauffeur’s compartment remains fully enclosed. Mercedes claim this is ‘true to the tradition of exclusive landaulets’, but we also can’t help thinking it helps the car’s structural rigidity. Either way, it’s definitely got one up on the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. In the Rolls the rear seats are quite tight, and if you sit up front you might have to drive, or make conversation with the hired help. But while the Rolls is actually good fun to drive, the Maybach has always been about being a passenger, though we’re not sure how many company execs will ride around with the roof down.

By Ben Pulman