Mercedes-Benz Business-Limousine by BINZ offers stealth and value

While the Mercedes-Benz S-class XL, the Maybach 62 replacement rumored to use the name Pullman, is still a few months and a couple hundred thousand dollars away, there are other options out there for getting work done on the road to the office. While Brabus wowed crowds at the Frankfurt motor show just a couple months ago with its mental Biturbo iBusiness sedan based on the newest S-class, at the end of the day we weren't sure if that was a car for the rear-seat passenger or the driver.

German coachbuilder BINZ GmbH has made a name for itself over the last few decades building Mercedes-Benz-based ambulances and unbelievably cool security cars based on the G-class, and the company also happens to offer a number of options when it comes to limousines.

The E-class-based Business-Limousine by BINZ GmbH is stretched 20.7 inches at the B-pillar, with the insert buying room for rear-seat passengers. The imaginatively named Business-Limousine is offered in a number of flavors available globally in the W212 platform, like the E200, the diesel-powered E250 CDI, the E350 4Matic and the V8-powered E500.

BINZ
The interior can be customized in a number of different ways, and this version seems rather elegant, though it might take a white to get used to a dash without a steering wheel.

The interior layout of the Business-Limousine is available with or without a partition wall for the rear passengers. The car is offered with multizone climate control for the rear compartment, as well as standard seating or BINZ's own Comfort seating package. BINZ also offers the latest infotainment systems for the interior of the Business-Limousine, including screens mounted in the front headrests or integrated into the compartment division. Further, the car offers an integrated Internet router and a telephone for the rear passengers, though we have a feeling that everyone has outgrown integrated telephones due to their remarkable ability to seem dated by the time they come to market. The phone that's likely to be ordered by customers of this car is likely to be an encrypted satellite phone, or a radiotelephone network (they still exist). In cars equipped with a partition between the front and rear compartments, buyers will also be able to choose from several different "dashes" for the partition wall, including those mimicking the front dash with glove compartments on both sides.

BINZ
BINZ makes ambulances and other service cars based on Mercedes-Benz chassis.

BMW, Brabus, and Cloer have previously fielded cars with this layout, BMW with its 1995-2001 L7, a factory-made limo with a B-pillar insert like this BINZ Business-Limousine. Brabus has also marketed this basic layout with the W220 S-class-based Brabus Business Sedan a few years ago. And Fidelis Cloer's armoring company has stretched the W220 S-class in a similar manner, offering NATO B6/B7 level ballistic protection. The Audi A8L, being aluminum, didn't lend itself well to stretching and armoring, though ArmorTech did offer stretched and armored D3-body Audi A8Ls. But those cars were all based on the largest sedans available from the two automakers, and that's where the BINZ Business-Limousine is unique.

BINZ
An inserted section at the B-pillar gives 20 inches of room for the interior.

The market for cars like this is thin, to put it mildly, and the B-pillar stretched luxobarges tend to be based on the top-of-the line sedans. They also frequently tend to be armored, and equipped with other interesting toys like sirens and communication systems you haven't heard of. Ultimately, we have to wonder why BINZ didn't just grab an S-class for this B-pillar stretching exercise. Perhaps they felt that there is a niche in the market for more affordable stretched sedans.

BINZ has been building six-door hotel limos based on the E-class since, well, before the W123 sedans of the 1970s, so stretching the Mercedes-Benz E-class is nothing new for them. While BMW and Audi do offer the midsize A6L and 530Li in the Asian markets, those merely come with longer rear doors, typically buying about 6 to 10 inches of legroom for the rear passengers. Mercedes-Benz itself offers a long-wheelbase E-class in China. The Business-Limousine, on the other hand, is a handcrafted machine with a bespoke interior.

BINZ
The interior can be outfitted with a partition or without, as in the BMW L7 of the 1990s.

Before we see an explosion of custom-trimmed 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-class XL or Pullman models (or however that ultra-elite model may end up being named), the BINZ Business-Limousine is an interesting and rather low-key choice for executive transport -- one that's available with thrifty engines and nonarmored skin. Ultimately, the Business-Limousine does not achieve complete stealth due to its outward appearance, but it's not ostentatious, either. In traffic, we wonder just how many noncar-people will notice that there's something funny about this E-class.

According to BINZ, this limousine starts at around 80,000 Euros, or approximately $108,000, though BINZ does not offer cars for sale in North America through any distributor. The Business-Limousine is expected to sell mostly in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, where there is more of a market for bespoke personal cars, and until the debut of the long-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz S-class Maybach replacement the BINZ E-class Business-Limousine offers an interesting and even more stealthy alternative.

By Jay Ramey