Maybach Revives the Zeppelin

The Maybach brand is due for a major revamp with a little help from Aston Martin, but until that tie-up becomes official, Daimler AG is content to announce yet another limited edition of the super-luxe limousines.

This time, they have looked to the 1930s and an airship for the latest iteration of the 57 and 62: the Maybach Zeppelin. Stuttgart has gone to great lengths to make these two behemoths their most ostentatious yet.

The interiors are sheathed in an opulent mix of leather, shiny piano black finish, lambskin carpeting and a pair of silver champagne flutes. Curiously, they have also saw it fit to add a perfume atomizer – shaped like an illuminated crystal ball – and with a choice of two fragrances by perfume specialist Givaudan.

In comparison to the interiors, the car’s two-tone paintwork, dark red taillights, 20-inch dark chrome rims and angular door mirrors seem more modest compliments.

Maybach will only make 100 of these Zeppelins, priced at 406,000 Euros for the 57, and 473,200 Euros for the 62.

MINI Shaves Top Off the JCW

MINI will shave off the top of their top-spec John Cooper Works at the Geneva Motor Show in March when they unveil the MINI JCW Convertible.

Priced at £23,470 (or about US$34,123), MINI promises this JCW cabrio to be the most race-bred of the JCW lineup. Outlining its racing credentials, this JCW cabrio shares the same engine as the MINI Challenge race car – a “significantly revised” version, says MINI, of the 1.6-liter turbocharged power-plant found in the MINI Cooper S.

That’s good enough for 211bhp, an amazing 206lb ft of torque available from a lower rev, and a 0-60mph time of 6.9 seconds. That extra torque comes courtesy of a Sport button, unique to JCW models, which when activated, sharpens steering and throttle response.

Another JCW-only models is the Electronic Differential Lock Control (EDLC) which lets you unleash the speed demon inside you and still maintain firm grip of the tarmac as you skirt round corners and tight bends.

Other justifications for that hefty tag come from bespoke 17” alloy wheels, extra-large disc brakes with Brembo calipers, lots of JCW badging, an Aero kit, and a bespoke JCW Alcantara steering wheel, sports seats and a glossy piano black interior.

Short Film - Smart Hermès Fortwo édition Toile

Hermès dressed the Smart fortwo issuing a special edition of the diminutive city car. The interior is made of high-quality leather and special canvas called Toile H.

Two unique textures cover everything from the seats to the car’s tridion safety cell. For the inside, you can choose the Hermes signature orange or nine others colors including indigo, gold, lime and pink. There’s also a nice standard umbrella.

High fashion never comes cheap, and the Hermes Smart is no exception coming in at $48,500 in U.S. dollars or 38,000 euros.

Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce

Lamborghini presented the limited edition Murcielago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce, more powerful, lighter and faster than the Murcielago LP 640, an icon of the Italian brand.

The extreme supercar of menacing character and brutal power features the 6.5 liter V12 raised to 670 bhp and a weight reduction of 100 kg, enabling a top speed of 342 km/h (212 mph) and a 0-100 km/h time of 3.2 seconds.

The new design is quite aggressive with a large air intakes for the front brakes more powerfully emphasized and a new rear, an innovative engine bonnet and a choice of two aerodynamic set-ups featuring either a small or large rear spoiler.

 Wide, low, with its glass area pushed way forward and a long, taut back – the interplay between the soft contours of the basic form and razor sharp edges is the perfect expression of the Lamborghini design language.

The interior in Alcantara and carbon fiber combines elegance with high-quality and sporty.

But absolutely no corners have been cut when it comes to one characteristic that is a feature of all Lamborghini super sports cars: the exceptionally high quality of the workmanship.

The craftsmen in Sant’Agata Bolognese are all masters of their respective trades; the three-year warranty bears testimony to absolute faith in product quality.

“The new Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce is the systematic continuation of our brand philosophy. It is more extreme and uncompromising than virtually any other automobile,” said Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini.

“As the new top model of the highly successful Murciélago range, the SuperVeloce displays not only outstanding driving dynamics, it is also further evidence of our company’s technological expertise. Customers can look forward to an utterly unparalleled driving experience.”

Lamborghini Insecta Concept

Iulian Bumbu, a Romanian car designer, created this study of a 2-seater mid-engined Lamborghini Insecta Concept.

“The idea was to create an extreme race-oriented supercar with a style that introduces softer and more organic lines and integrate them into the geometrical style of Lamborghini” said Iulian Bumbu.

Lamborghini Insecta Concept features the brand’s styling cues with inspirations that came from insect exoskeletons, particularly in bugs.

Iulian Bumbu used carbon-fiber for the body structure and panels. The powertrain is the same adopted on the Gallardo.

“I tried to apply this tipe of organic movements and translate them into Lamborghini’s style so that when you see the car, you can immediately recognize it as a Lambo” explained the designer.

The car has got a length of 4,300 mm, as the Gallardo model, a height of 1,000 mm and a width of 2,000 mm, with a wheelbase of 2,650 mm.

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