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Maybach Exelero - coupe body by Stola - manufactured in 2005
Who thought that the days of special coachbuilt bodies on premium car chassis were over is wrong. Well, at least a bit anyway. Before the second World War it was common practice that chassis produced by car manufacturers of the upper class were fitted with unique, handcrafted body designs by specialized coachbuilding firms. This resulted in a wide variety of artfull and inspiring cars which became instant classics and collectors items which still draw lots of people to car shows and museums.
This coachbuilding craft disappeared rapidly after the 1950s as a casualty of mass production, increasingly strict safety regulations and the cost of manual labour. The colorful and creative touch that coachbuilt cars added to the bland mass of daily transport unfortunately disappeared with it, but not the desire of car owners to have something unique. And this opened up a new market for manufacturers of styling and tuning parts to personalize all those cars that essentially look and drive the same.
But this is only a poor substitute for a car designed by gifted stylists from scratch, which is aptly illustrated by the car shown here, the Exelero. Whether it's your taste or not, it's clear that it isn't anything like the original Maybach 57 it's based upon. The creation of this modern one-off special was very much like how coachbuilt cars were created half a century ago, of course combined with utilizing all the benefits of modern technology. It's built to order by Maybach from Germany and Stola from Italy for a German tire manufacturer named Fulda. It's meant to test tires at high speeds, beyond 350 kph, and inspired by a special streamlined Maybach SW38 which the company used for testing at the end of the 1930s (that car, which doesn't exist anymore, is shown on the large black & white picture behind the Exelero). Besides that it is of course a welcome image-maker and advertising piece for the company.
In contrast to other many other Italian coachbuilding companies Stola (established in 1919) doesn't so much specialize in styling as it does in building prototypes. So while production of engine and chassis was in the hands of Maybach and that of the body in the hands of Stola, the development of body and interior design was entrusted to a team of teachers and pupils from the Pforzheim Polytechnic, under the guidance of the DaimlerChrysler (the parent company of Maybach) styling department. The result is an impressive monster; a coupe powered by a 5.9 litre V12 biturbo engine cranking out some 700 hp and 1000 Nm of torque fitted under an unusually long hood. Top speed is clocked at about 351 kph, but even more striking are the measurements of this car: it's 5,89 m long, 2,14 m wide and 1,39 m high. In other words, it's huge... And it has a thirst for fuel to match.
The Exelero has virtually all the characteristics of a classic coachbuilt car: chassis and body were produced separately, the styling was done by specialized designers, it's unique, slightly insane and beyond everything you've seen before. Not to mention the fact that the owner has to be extremely wealthy to have it made and to pay for the running costs. The total package looks convincing; it's well-proportioned and relatively tasteful (except maybe for its big aluminum slab grill in front) and it's definitively desirable car.
Great that this still can be done in this age of rationality and I'm convinced that this car will be a highly valued classic one day, like its spiritual ancestors are now.
© André Ritzinger, Amsterdam, Holland
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