Mercedes-Benz unveils wild new rugged but luxurious off-road electric vehicle concept

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a wild new luxurious off-road electric vehicle concept: Project MAYBACH.

The German automaker worked with late American fashion designer Virgil Abloh on the project, which they unveiled in his honor.

Abloh, artistic director at Louis Vuitton, passed away last weekend. Mercedes-Benz says that he collaborated with Daimler Chief Designer Gorden Wagener on the new concept vehicle, and the company is unveiling it at the Rubell Museum in his honor:

“On 1 December 2021, in lieu of an intimate press event, Mercedes-Benz pays tribute to Virgil Abloh by opening the doors of the Rubell Museum to showcase Project MAYBACH to the public between December 1^st – December 2^nd, with access offered exclusively to students from local design schools from 11:30am to 12:30pm on December 1^st.  A humble contribution to Virgil’s vast legacy, the Mercedes-Maybach show car exemplifies the possibilities of future design and is the result of an on-going co-operation with the polymath artist, architect, creative director, fashion designer and philanthropist; driven by a shared passion to enrich the conversation around luxury design.”

Here are a few pictures of the concept electric vehicle that Mercedes-Benz unveiled today:

It is quite a unique vehicle that features a lot of luxury that we are used to seeing in Maybach vehicles, but it’s also rugged and ready for off-road travel.

Mercedes-Benz wrote about the concept:

“A design unlike anything that has been developed by Mercedes-Benz, every element of Project MAYBACH has been built from scratch. Abloh, collaboratively with Gorden Wagener, has interpreted Mercedes-Maybach’s luxury identity with a new design language and pushed the boundaries of function, style, and collaborative creativity.  Inspired by the great outdoors and recontextualizing a traditionally urban brand within a distinctly off-road environment, the 2-seater, battery-electric off-road coupé combines huge Gran Turismo proportions, large off-road wheels and distinctive attachments.”

It’s also unique in the sense that it will probably never make it to production, but it does offer design features to think about.

Mercedes-Benz didn’t release any specifications for the electric vehicle.