Still a Future for Maybach?

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umors that Daimler-Benz will tie up with Aston Martin to build future Maybach models won't go away. "Why?" we asked Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin CEO. He said he hadn't commented to the German papers. "But of course that is ongoing -- the discussion. We have a reputation in the industry. For high quality, fast work, and low cost. No one knows how we can do it."


Daimler remains in a quandary as to how to replace the aging Maybach, which consistently underperforms its 1000-car/year target. Rolls-Royce and Bentley's top-of-the-market sedans roundly beat Maybach, which uses an old-generation S-Class platform. Its systems are becoming steadily more outdated.



The plan under consideration is for Aston Martin to engineer much of a possible new Maybach. This opens the eventuality of switching to an aluminum body, like the Rolls Phantom. Aston's entire range is made of that material.


In exchange, Aston would have access to Mercedes engineering. The most likely British car to benefit is the Lagonda crossover. Aston's show-car Lagonda concept was conceived around a Mercedes M-Class chassis. Aston will have rivals if Daimler decides to outsource a new Maybach. MagnaSteyr in Graz, Austria, engineered the aluminum body shell of the SLS gullwing supercar jointly with Mercedes, and builds the body, too.