The Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet is the most luxurious electric concept car yet

At last year’s Pebble Beach car show, Mercedes unveiled the Maybach 6, and it was one of the most interesting concept cars from the brand in a while. Featuring slick art-deco styling, huge wheels and sweeping lines, it was certainly distinctive – and now Mercedes has unveiled an open-topped version.

Called the Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet, the new concept car features the same design language as the coupe, uses cutting-edge EV technology – but now lets the wind in your hair. The new concept 6 Cabriolet is actually part of Mercedes’ ultra-luxurious Maybach line, so it’s also a glimpse into the future of luxury.

Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet: Powertrain

Just like the Vision 6 Coupe on which it’s based, the 6 Cabriolet is full of cutting-edge technology. Mercedes says its new concept is capable of generating a huge 750hp, coming from four electric motors. One motor is housed in each wheel, so the Mercedes has all-wheel drive.

As with most electric cars, the 6 Cabriolet houses its batteries low down in the chassis for a lower centre of gravity and therefore better handling. Mercedes says the car can hit 100km/h from a standstill in less than four seconds, and has a top speed of 250km/h – but Mercedes claims it will still have a range of more than 500km.

When it comes to charging, Mercedes envisages DC charging based on the CCS charging, which allows a charging capacity of a huge 350kW. In theory, this means that the 6 Cabriolet can get around 100km of range with just five minutes’ charging.

Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet: Exterior and interior

Although it’s full of futuristic components, the 6 Cabriolet looks like a streamlined automobile of the past, on the outside at least. It’s hugely long – six metres in fact – and Mercedes designers have used that length to create a dramatic, swooping-looking car.

“The Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet takes modern luxury into the realms of the ultimate in luxury, and is the perfect embodiment of our design strategy,” said Gorden Wagener, chief design officer of Daimler. “Breathtaking proportions combined with a luxurious ‘haute couture’ interior help to create the ultimate experience.”

In addition to its art-deco inspired grille, the new Mercedes concept also features a rounded boat-tail to specifically conjure up images of yachts – another example of pure luxury. That design move is similar to that of the Rolls-Royce Sweptail, which was also designed to evoke a more nautical theme.

The interior of the Mercedes-Benz is even more boat-like and is designed to be as open and accessible as possible. Mercedes designers have also left some of the central transmission tunnel see-through, and placed in blue fibre-optic cables to show the flow of electricity. While that might look great to some people, personally I think it looks a bit like a Dr Who prop.

Although it’s a concept car, the 6 Cabriolet is still an interesting look at what luxury cars could be like in the future.