A company called Xenatec has taken some Maybachs and relieved them of their rear doors. And I’m into it. Really into it. Good thing there’s one for sale.
Back when Maybach was a brand in its own right and not just a trim level for the Mercedes S-Class, it made one kind of sausage in two lengths. You could get your Maybach sedan in long ‘57′ guise or the even loooonger ‘62′ version. I think there was a choice of engines but there was not a choice in number of doors. you had to get four of those.
But a coachbuilder called Xenatec thought buyers might be interested in a Maybach coupe so they made their own. They might not be the most well-known Maybach surgeons around, but I think their effort is a lot more attractive. They took a really dated and awkward design like the Maybach 57S and turned it into something you might actually want to be seen getting out of.
Though the car does look like a lot happened to it between when it was stock and today, a review from CAR magazine from when the Xenatec first hit the market back in 2011 says that the modifications really only consist of the bodywork, some moderate trim changes inside and out, and new front seats that can slide forward to let rear occupants into the still ginormous back seat.
In 2011 when CAR drove the Xenatec Maybach, the company was asking £715 for the opportunity to drive the most imposing and luxurious personal luxury coupe this side of the Bentley Brooklands. And while that’s a lot of money, I think those in the market for this kind of car would think it’s worth the price of admission. These are statement pieces, for making an entrance, not for blending in.
And this car does not blend in. Even though it’s basically the fanciest Mercedes CL600, it doesn’t look like one. It’s even more elongated, even more athletic-looking, even if it is absolutely massive. I think the lower roofline really helps visually lighten the car, however counterintuitive that might sound.
The one drawback this car has is that set of B-pillars. I know they keep the car sturdy and stiff, and you want one there if you ever get T-boned but the regular Mercedes CL Class managed without them. So does the current S Class Coupe. If those cars can do without, this one can too. After all, B-pillars are for chumps.
The one I found for sale is currently going for €650,000. That’s a hefty dent in the original sales price but the depreciation must be better than what you’d be facing in a regular, pedestrian four-door Maybach. You can find it here at Hollman in Germany. Just don’t look at the interior. Please. It’s bad. But these things can be fixed.
If this one gets away, maybe we’ll be able to have another Maybach coupe soon anyway, perhaps straight from the factory. A few years back, Mercedes did a run of S650 Maybach convertibles. They didn’t do a coupe that time around, but it seems logical to me that what was done for the convertible can easily be stuffed into the S Class coupe. So come on, Mercedes. Give us a real Maybach coupe. For the people.