A worn-down bar of soap ... but in a good way
Defining characteristics: Long gull-wing hood, enormous rear overhang
Ridiculous features: Picnic supplies under the hood, wraparound console-to-seat upholstery
Chance of being mass-produced: Zero, but design elements could see the light of day
A year after it unveiled the Vision Maybach 6 coupe concept, Mercedes-Benz has dropped the top on its stretch of a concept at this weekend's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Now comes the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 cabriolet, a two-seat concept as wild as last year's four-seat coupe.
Related: BMW Concept Z4 Preview
Well, maybe a little less wild. The coupe, which also debuted at Pebble Beach, had roof-hinged gull-wing doors, a feature its sibling's architecture prevents. Top down, the convertible's profile evokes a worn-down bar of soap, but the impossibly long hood and tail still make a statement. What's more, the latter recalls Mercedes' original 300SL, which is never a bad thing.
Overall length is 18.7 feet — nearly as long as the ginormous Rolls-Royce Phantom. Like the coupe, the convertible's cabin features a ribbon of upholstery that wraps from seat cushion to console, but the center air vents are more distinct here. They sit on a separate plane below the main dashboard, a difference Mercedes divulged in a teaser video of the convertible earlier this month.
The fabric top employs rose-gold threads, while the cabin's floor has open-pore wood with aluminum inlays. Ahead of the windshield is a gull-wing hood (there it is!) to reveal a compartment with custom luggage and — why are we not surprised? — picnic supplies. Sadly, croquet mallets and bocce balls don't appear to be among them.
Like last year's coupe, the convertible is an electric car; Mercedes touts 750 horsepower and a range of more than 200 miles. Mercedes says its recent concept cars are "looking far into the future," but the Vision Maybach 6 cabriolet seems too wild to portend anything more than a design direction.