At the moment, the most luxurious SUV in the BMW Group is the Rolls Royce Cullinan. As a $300,000 luxury SUV, you’d think that the Cullinan would be in a class of its own. Except it isn’t Oddly enough, its segment is jam-packed with SUVs at the moment and it’s only going to get more crowded. One of the upcoming vehicles to enter the segment will be something from Mercedes-Maybach and it will be based on the all-new GLS-Class.
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According to Autocar, this upcoming GLS-based Mercedes-Maybach will share a lot of body work with the original car but with a new grille, new headlights and new taillights. Expect its stylistic changes to mirror the Mercedes-Maybach 6 Coupé from a couple of years ago. That’s not such a bad thing, if we’re honest.
On the inside, the Mercedes-Maybach should have materials and a fit/finish that’s superior to even the most high-end Mercedes-Benz vehicles. That will be very impressive and extremely luxurious but it’s a bit sad that the design likely won’t change much. Though, there will be Maybach-style gauges and screens.
The big news, though, is that it could get a V12. It’s been rumored that an all-new 6.0 liter twin-turbocharged V12 is in the works to act as a flagship engine for the brand. If that’s the case, it could dawn in the Mercedes-Maybach SUV and work its way down.
Even with a stonking V12 and endless luxury, the Mercedes-Maybach will still be considerably cheaper than the Rolls Royce Cullinan. Expect it to cost around $200,000, which is about $100,000 less than the Rolls, give or take a couple of Volkswagen Golfs. So while it might not be quite as opulent or as exclusive as the Rolls, it will be had for helluva lot cheaper.
It will be interesting to see how this car is received. There already quite a few of these uber-opulent SUVs on the market and they’re almost all universally disliked.
[Source: Autocar]
Not even close to the Cullinan. BMW jumped the pond on this one.
Too bad about the i Series. They were ahead of everyone then they abandoned it before it took off. Duh!
BMW i Division had all the right tech, at the right timing and… got steered into the ground by the wrong executive vision.
The ultimatum with adoption of new technology is that it must displace older technology without compromises or else consumers won’t adopt.
Can’t make an EV with 80 miles of range and then attempt to convince the owner that he/she doesn’t need any more than that. It just doesn’t work that way.
Same with a $150K sports car, can’t expect those with the means to buy this product to compromise on the fundamental attribute that defines the segment: performance.
Regime change was probably the single most influential cause of the demise of i division. i3 now selling more than ever. 80 miles was probably considered adequate for European Urban cars. Sprawling American cities not high in their considerations.
i8 was all about performance vs. efficiency. Teslas are decent on a full charge but that charge still takes too long and performance demands can overheat the batteries. i8 is a nice blending of technologies in the current F1 manner in a way reasonable on real world streets.
Another contender in the “Ugly, Big-Ass Front Grille” competition.