2021 Project Maybach Is Virgil Abloh’s Last Collaboration With Mercedes
For those of you out there with a passion for fashion, Virgil Abloh (1980-2021) needs no presentation. Among others, he was the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection beginning 2018 and showed great interest in art and music too. For car enthusiasts, his name may sound familiar thanks to the special Mercedes-Benz G-Class designed in cooperation with Mercedes’ Chief Design Officer, Gorden Wagener and unveiled in 2020.
Virgil Abloh died on November 28, 2021, at the age of 41, in Chicago, after he was diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma back in 2019. In his honor, Mercedes will open for two days the doors of the Rubell Museum where it will display this special Project Maybach.
Designed in cooperation with Abloh himself, the Project Maybach is an electric concept car that "exemplifies the possibilities of future design." Every element of the concept was built from scratch and it is the result of a work collaboration between Mercedes’ Chief Design Officer, Gorden Wagener and Virgil Abloh. The project wants to "push the boundaries of function, style, and collaborative creativity. "
The project is has a weird shape: it is an off-road coupe with huge Gran Turismo proportions and large off-road wheels.
The concept is also very long: 6 meters (236.22 inches).
“Mercedes-Benz is devastated to hear of the passing of Virgil Abloh. Our sincere thoughts are with Virgil’s family and teams. Now opening the world of our collaboration, and Virgil’s unique vision, to the public we want to respectfully celebrate the work of a truly unique design talent, who created endless possibilities for collaboration through his unbridled imagination and inspired all that knew his work.” Mercedes-Benz AG.
