author: Vineeth Joel Patel

As the largest automotive industry in the world, China is dictating what steps automakers will take in the future. The country continues to push for cars that pollute less emissions, which is leading to more electric vehicles, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids. While China continues to push for electrified vehicles, the rest of the world has a love affair with SUVs and crossovers.







Unique Design That Will Surely Turn Heads





In light of both new trends in the automotive industry, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a bold concept that hits on capitalizes on both movements and adds a bit of luxury into the mix. The Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury was unveiled at the 2018 Beijing Auto Show. Unlike the first Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 Coupe Concept, the latest concept combines sedan and SUV body styles.







The exterior design of the Ultimate Luxury is a bit of an optical illusion. From the front, its enormous flowing grille and slim headlights convey the design of a striking SUV. When you get to the back end, things start to get a little confusing. The sloping roofline leads into a sedan-like squared-off rear end. We'll leave the final decision on whether it looks good up to you, but it's not as pretty as the 6 Coupe Concept.









"The Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury is a totally new archetype of a kind never seen before," said Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer at Daimler. "Our concept combines the DNA of an SUV with that of a saloon to produce an ultra-modern SUV of three-box design."



Powerful, All-Electric Powertrain





Underneath the interesting body work sits Mercedes-Benz's GLS-class chassis. Power, as China has dictated, come from an all-electric powertrain. The SUV/sedan has an electric motor on each wheel that combine to produce a total of 750 horsepower. With that kind of power, Mercedes-Benz claims the vehicle can get to a top speed of 155 mph.







The Ultimate Luxury is fitted with an 80-kWh battery pack that bestows the vehicle with a range of 200 miles. With its large stature, the SUV/sedan is comparable to a Tesla Model X. That vehicle, though, comes with a 100-kWh pack that boasts a range of 295 miles. That's a lot more than the Ultimate Luxury.









Since Mercedes owns the Maybach moniker, the concept is the definition of luxury on the inside. There's upscale nappa leather, rose gold-tinted aluminum, and opulent trim pieces. Like the automaker's range-topping S-Class sedan, the concept features two 12.3 inch screens. Those things, though, aren't really special. The heated tray with teapot and cups allow for "exquisite tea-drinking enjoyment while on the road," claims Mercedes.







The Ultimate Luxury is just a concept for now. The automaker, though, could come out with something along the same lines in the not-so-distant future. It's likely that Mercedes will unveil an opulent variant of the GLS-class under the Maybach name around 2020. We're not sure if the automaker will stick with the SUV and sedan design, which seems to be specifically built with China in mind, or go with something more conventional.



