2004 Maybach 57 on 2040-cars

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Jay Z and Kanye West's gutted Maybach expected to fetch $100,000 [w/video]

The memory of Jay Z and Kanye West laying waste to a $350,000 Maybach for the duo's "Otis" music video continues to bring a smile to our face. We're always fans of the Mad Max treatment on any vehicle, and taking a Sawzall and a cutting torch to a ludicrously expensive luxury barge remains the stuff of our twisted fantasies. If you've been wondering what ever happened to the zombie Maybach, wonder no more. What's left of the 'Bach is officially headed to auction, with the proceeds going to Save The Children, a non-profit charity dedicated to improving the lives of children around the world. In this case, the auction will benefit families in East Africa.
How much will the cannibalized Maybach fetch once the gavel falls? Early estimates say bids could reach as high as $100,000, or less than a third of the vehicle's total value pre-Otisification. Worth it? Well, we certainly won't tell you how to spend your cash, but if you're a fan of hip hop royalty and/or Save The Children, we're inclined to think so. Hit the jump to check out the video for yourself.

2017 Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet includes guaranteed exclusivity

For certain buyers, the only thing better than a super-luxurious cabriolet that requires enormous sums of money to buy is a a super-luxurious cabriolet that money can't buy. That's what Daimler promises with the 2017 Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet to be unveiled at the LA Auto Show. Limited to 300 units worldwide and just 75 in the US, having just three available color combinations magnifies the exclusivity. Turning the Mercedes-Benz S-Class cabrio into a droptop worthy of the Maybach family means slight revisions outside and in, and a whole lot of Maybach badges. Instead of the three lower intakes familiar from Mercedes' corporate language, there's black mesh highlighted by a shiny design element. It's not the most graceful face from dead-on, looking sort of like a chrome-lined grimace picked up from Wallace and Gromit. A Maybach emblem adorns the fenders and gleaming kickplates, the 20-inch wheels add an edge to the brand's traditional dinner-plate design. The 6.0-liter, twin-turbo V12 carries over from the donor convertible, with the same 621 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque hooked up to a seven-speed automatic transmission. The only three color treatments available in the US will be Zircon Red with a porcelain and black interior and a black top, Cote d'Azur Blue with a porcelain and saddle interior and a beige top, and Designo Diamond White with a porcelain and Yacht Blue interior with a dark blue top. The cabin works nautical themes lifted in part from the Mercedes-Benz Style Arrow 460-Granturismo yacht. Perforations in the leather seats evoke waterfalls. The "Flowing Lines" trim ornamenting the seats comes two different colors depending on the exterior hue; either "Piano lacquer" black with the Zircon Red or Magnolia Nut Brown with the other two options. Buyers will find profuse badging in embroidered, embossed, and inlaid varieties, as well as chrome-plated "1 of 300" lettering in several places like the cup holder and steering wheel. The few lucky customers who buy an S650 will also find a four-piece set of Maybach-badged luggage in the truck, two travel bags and two weekenders tooled up in the same leather as the interior. The key fob gets finished in Porcelain leather. A car cover comes standard, in the same color as the convertible top. A certificate signed by the mustachioed one, Daimler Chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche, provides the corporate-badged icing on the cake.

Mercedes S-Class stretch variant to command $200,000+

We recently spotted a stretched version of the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but it sounds like this new ultra-luxurious version of the sedan might not be quite as much of a Maybach-replacing model that we initially expected. Automotive News says that the car has somewhat more modest targets, with the so-called "super S-Class" expected to list in the $200,000 to $250,000 range when it goes on sale in 2014. That's hardly chump change, but it's about $175,000 less than the now-dead Maybach 57.
After speaking with Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, AN's article says that this new S-Class model will be targeted at the Bentley Flying Spur and Rolls-Royce Ghost rather than more expensive models like the Mulsanne and Phantom, which makes sense since the Maybach brand was killed off due to slow sales. Of course, there is still the possibility that the three-row S600 Pullman could reach a little higher to fill in the void of those $400,000 sedans. Aside from the stretched body, Zetsche also promises cabin tech and luxury not offered on the standard S-Class, which is hard to imagine since the new S-Class has gobs of both already. During our recent first drive of the standard S-Class, we said that its interior is "going to give Bentley and Rolls-Royce night sweats," so it sounds like Daimler will be aiming for breathing difficulties and heart palpitations with this new model.