The Aristocras Guide to Grand Touring

The world’s first convertible Maybach is here. Not surprisingly, it’s based on Mercedes-Benz’s most storied sports coupé.

- PARTH CHARAN

IT'S NO SMALL feat for acar design to be so visually arresti-ing that even the cerulean hues of the Mediterranean Sea cannot rob it of its splendour. Basking under the mellow Ibizan sun, the Mercedes-Maybach SL 680 has the sort of kinetic elegance that only the choicest athletes and ballet dancers possess. Even when standing still. The canvas roof unfolds with two triangular flaps emerging from their respective cavities and pointing outwards, like an eagle settling in on its perch, surveying the landscape it alone has dominion over. The boot lid lifts gently, like the wing of a butterfly. Everything about the SL 680 radiates a sense of visual harmony and unhurried poise, from the dual-tone bodywork to the 21-inch multi-spoke alloys, as well as the measured doses of chrome meant to highlight its purposeful, minimalist bodywork.