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Project Maybach is an absurd, awesome off-road electric coupe

Mercedes has created some mighty unusual concepts for the Maybach luxury brand. The Exelero high-speed test car and the Ultimate Luxury SUV sedan come to mind. But the Project Maybach, designed in collaboration with late fashion designer Virgil Abloh, may be the wildest yet, being an electric off-road coupe. It's not just the fact it's a two-door off-road coupe. It's the fact that it's a nearly 20-foot-long two-door off-road coupe. And it has very traditional proportions and lines, with a gargantuan front end, and a somewhat less gargantuan rear end. It's squared-off, but in a more elegant, midcentury luxury car way than say, a Hummer. And of course, it has a huge chrome grille and highly embellished taillights, complete with Maybach logos. And yet, this old-school coupe sits high off the ground. It rolls on small, steel-style wheels with chunky tires. It even has skid plates, bolt-on fender flares, rock rails and a roll cage with a roof basket. It's all painted in a matte tan paint that makes it look like a desert-ready expedition vehicle. It's even arguably practical for expedition work. The somewhat spartan-looking interior has tan leather seats that recline fully flat for sleeping. Being an electric car with long areas unoccupied by people, plus that roof basket, it likely has loads of cargo space. On the hood are solar panels that might provide a bit of range, but would at least be handy for recouping some power for accessories. The interior seems to have additional storage bins and tools stowed in special compartments around the cabin. As for the actual performance and range, well, Mercedes has nothing specific. That's not entirely surprising, since this seems to be solely a design exercise. As such, don't expect to see a production model anytime soon. Then again, off-road luxury vehicles are certainly popular. Maybe Mercedes would consider it if there were enough seriously wealthy customers expressing interest. Related video:

Mercedes-AMG to phase out 5.5-liter V8 after next year [UPDATE]

UPDATE: A previous version of this story indicated that AMG's 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 was still mated to a five-speed automatic transmission, however the latest models (including the S65 AMG sedan and coupe, SL65 roadster and G65 sport-ute are equipped with the newer seven-speed unit. Mercedes also reached out to point out that the 5.5-liter engine will be phased out gradually, not overnight. There's a lot to love about AMG's 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8. It produces as much as 577 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, and delivers blistering performance to even the heaviest of vehicles. But try not to get too attached, because like its 6.2-liter, naturally aspirated predecessor, it's not long for this world. The latest word comes from Autocar, which reports that Mercedes will release the last applications for the 5.5 biturbo within these next two calendar years in the new GLE63 AMG and upcoming S63 AMG convertible. After that, even though it was only introduced in 2011, it will be phased out. Fortunately Affalterbach has a worthwhile successor already in place in the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 from the Mercedes-AMG GT. The smaller powerplant, already in store for the new C63, is already producing 503 hp and 479 lb-ft in S spec. That's still shy of the larger unit's output, but where the 5.5 is nearing the end of its production cycle, the 4.0 is just starting out. Of course the 4.0-liter biturbo isn't the only engine AMG is making these days. Smaller models (based on the front-drive platform) employ the 45-designation, high-output 2.0-liter turbo four. Models at the very top of the lineup, however, use a 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 that may be a dinosaur, but with 621 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque on tap, still can't be beat.

Editors' Choice: Top Five 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show Debuts

Consider the 2015-16 auto show season officially kicked off. The Frankfurt Motor Show offered a great look at the newest crop of production cars and conceptual machines, and brought some old favorites back into the spotlight for a closer look. (The Alfa Romeo Giulia, for example, debuted in June, but this was the first time most of us saw it.) Now that the dust has settled and we're all on flights back to the US, our editors cast their votes for their personal favorites from the Frankfurt show. These are the cars we truly loved seeing the most. But unlike other shows, there was no one runaway winner – all of the Top Five received positive praise from our team. We won't spoil the results, though. Scroll down to see what we liked most from this year's Frankfurt expo. 5th Place – MERCEDES-BENZ IAA CONCEPT View 12 Photos MIKE AUSTIN: The clean lines on this concept have me excited for a more elegant beauty to future Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Next to the Concept IAA, the lovely S-Class Coupe looks like an overstyled barge. DAVID GLUCKMAN: Yeah, the extendable rear is neat and all, but I'm more interested in the front-end styling of this one. It looks like the Tron version of a 300SL, in a good way. I'm hopeful it portends the future of Mercedes design. STEVEN EWING: I was super impressed when Mercedes said that, with the rear end extended, this concept has a drag coefficient of just 0.19. That's crazy aerodynamic. I'm not head-over-heels about the styling, but I think the lessons learned from this concept are really important, and will play a huge role in the future of Mercedes' products. 4th Place – ALFA ROMEO GIULIA View 15 Photos SEYTH MIERSMA: I can hardly express how in love with this car I am. The styling feels creative, modern, and evocative, without going over the top. The proposed performance is spectacular. And the Alfa badge speaks to a legacy of romantic motoring. DAVID GLUCKMAN: Pretty Italian car makes big promises and will probably deliver on about three quarters of them. I think that will still be enough for me. JEREMY KORZENIEWSKI: I'm really intrigued by the Giulia. It looks great, sounds awesome, and I'm expecting it to have a load more character than its German rivals. I hope I'm not disappointed. 3rd Place – JAGUAR F-PACE View 15 Photos GREG MIGLIORE: It's the first SUV for Jaguar, and I think they nailed the design, capability, and electronics. It's the right car at the right time.