Mercedes-Benz pays tribute to Virgil Abloh with the showcase of Project MAYBACH at the Rubell Museum..
For just two select days students from local design schools were able to admire the collaborative car. 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..
A design unlike anything that has been developed by Mercedes-Benz, every element of Project MAYBACH has been built from scratch. The collabortion was the late designer's second with the automaker showcasing a new design language which pushes 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. Key for both Abloh and Wagener was a responsible vision of future design. Complete creative freedom – untethered by production requirements - enabled the design teams to conceptualize what the future of electric travel could look like.
Under the transparent surface of the show cars front hood for instance are solar cells that increase the imagined range of the Project MAYBACH.
Never afraid to spark conversation through provocative design, Project MAYBACH channels Abloh’s passion to challenge the status quo and re-write the rulebook of aspirational design. The X-Factor nature of Project MAYBACH results not only from its breathtaking size - almost six meters long - and characteristics, but above all from its unique contrasts; most notably through how naturally authentic Mercedes-Maybach design elements are harmoniously combined with a new Outdoor Adventure design motif. The power of Abloh’s work is not only from the product design, but also the exploratory conversations that his work ignited.
Whilst the Project MAYBACH show car was inspired by how one could explore nature within a uniquely luxury context with Maybach, the Mercedes-Benz teams thank Virgil Abloh for the inspiration to explore every day the power of cross-industry dialogue to imagine a better, more inclusive future.
Images provided courtesy of Mercedes Benz
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