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Ultra-rare Maybach 57S Coupe ordered new by Moammar Gadhafi is for sale

One of Maybach's rarest 21st-century cars is for sale in Holland, and it owes its existence to one of the most controversial African leaders in recent history. Dutch exotic car dealer Auto Leitner listed a Xenatec-built Maybach 57S Cruisero coupe ordered and customized by Colonel Moammar Gadhafi but built after his death. Short-lived German coachbuilder Xenatec chose to start with the short-wheelbase 57 rather than with the longer and more stately 62. It didn't alter the sedan's length or wheelbase; instead, it created the Cruisero by extending the front doors, removing the rear doors, and adding more rake to the roof pillars. Several other minor visual tweaks set the coupe apart from the sedan, and the interior was given a more superficial makeover. Xenatec made no mechanical modifications, so power comes from an AMG-built 6.0-liter V12 twin-turbocharged to 604 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. It spins the rear wheels via a five-speed automatic transmission. Although the coupe weighs 6,000 pounds, it takes five seconds to reach 60 miles per hour from a stop. The 57S Coupe was not a hefeweizen-fueled hack job haphazardly welded together in a shed. It was authorized by Daimler, and it was engineered to the same standards as the regular-production car. Executives were confident that they could sell 100 units to politicians, entrepreneurs, oligarchs, and other wealthy people around the world, but Xenatec filed for bankruptcy and closed after making only eight when one its main investors, a Saudi Arabia-based company named Auto Kingdom, abruptly stopped funneling money into the project. Gadhafi configured Auto Leitner's 57S Coupe, which was the fourth one built, and he should have taken delivery of it in 2012, but the Libyan Civil War that erupted in 2011 and ultimately led to his death on October 20 of that year derailed those plans. It was instead sold to another buyer whose identity is unknown. What's certain is that the person who ended up with Gadhafi's Maybach rarely drove it: its odometer shows about 1,429 miles. Highly optioned, this 57S is equipped with 20-inch wheels, soft-close doors, heated and massaging individual rear seats separated by a fridge, rear tray tables, front and rear air conditioning systems, a rear-seat entertainment system, and, for good measure a fire extinguisher.

Artist imagines eerie world where cars have no wheels

The wheel ranks right up there with the telescope and four-slice toaster in the pantheon of inventions that have moved humankind forward. But what if a circle in three dimensions had never occurred to anyone, and we all had just moved on without it? Perhaps we'd be driving around in Lucas Motors Landspeeders with anti-gravity engines. Or maybe we'd have the same cars we do today, just without wheels.
That's the thought experiment that seems to have led French photographer Renaud Marion to create his six-image series called Air Drive. The shots depict cars throughout many eras of motoring that look normal except for one thing: they have no wheels. The models used include a Jaguar XK120, Cadillac DeVille (shown above), Chevrolet El Camino and Camaro, and Mercedes-Benz SL and 300 roadsters.
Perhaps one day when our future becomes our past, you'll be able to walk the street and see with your own eyes the rust and patina of age on our nation's fleet of floating cars. Until then, Monsieur Marion's photographs will have to do.

Sunday Drive: From a mid-engine 'Vette to a restomod RV

Automotive enthusiasts are a diverse bunch. As proof, we present last week's top posts on Autoblog, starting with some really good spy photos of the upcoming mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette. Will it be sold alongside a classic front-engine 'Vette? We have no idea, but we can't wait to find out. Up next is a pickup truck. Can't get much further from a supercar, right? At least both the Corvette and the 2019 Ram 1500 – which will debut a radical new design that appears to eschew the mini big-rig look of past Rams in favor of something more refined – are both American. Decidedly not American? The Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV. The boxy off-road 'ute looks a heck of a lot like the old one, which is probably a good thing, but we know it'll be fancier and more luxurious than ever before. Check out the leaked images below. Also hailing from Germany, but sharing absolutely nothing else in common at all, is the Audi A4 Allroad. We've been driving this all-wheel-drive wagon for a while now, and we like it quite a bit. And, last but not least, is a 1959 bus that's been converted into an RV. Like we said, y'all certainly are a diverse bunch. Mid-engine Corvette — our clearest pictures yet 2019 Ram 1500 shows its full face 2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class revealed in leaked photos 2018 Audi A4 Allroad Drivers' Notes Review | Wagons still rule This Mercedes O 319 restomod camper van shames your VW Microbus Audi Chevrolet Mercedes-Benz RAM Truck Coupe Minivan/Van SUV Future Vehicles Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Special and Limited Editions Performance Supercars mid-engine corvette recap sunday drive