Audi Maybe Planning a Maybach Rival

Audi, the Ingolstadt-based member of the German trio, is said to be considering a car to take on Maybach. After discontinuing the brand in 2011, Mercedes-Benz relaunched Maybach as a sub-brand across several international markets in 2015. An AutoExpress report claims the four-ringed carmaker is deliberating an extra-long-wheelbase sedan and a swanky coupe to challenge Mercedes-Benz' flagship sedan.

Mercedes-Maybach S600

Dr. Stefan Knirsch, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, Technical Development, told Auto Express, "We are thinking about it. The success of the extra-long version of the S-Class has got us wondering about whether there could be a business case for that in the future."

Mercedes-Maybach Pullman

Mercedes-Benz currently offers two models with the Maybach badge: the Mercedes-Maybach S600 and the even more grandiose Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Pullman. Priced from nearly half a million euros, the Pullman model costs over twice as much as a Mercedes-Maybach S600.

Audi A8 L Extended

Anyway, if Audi is indeed considering a rival for the Mercedes-Maybach, it could call upon the A8 L to serve as the base for a protracted sedan. In fact, the automaker had recently revealed an exclusive example of the Audi A8 L. Made upon the request of Norway's monarch, the one-off 6-door A8 L extended model measures 6.36 meters (20.9 ft) in length and sports a wheelbase of 4.22 meters (13.8 ft). The extended version of the A8 L, a.k.a. XXL, is powered by a 3.0 TFSI engine that develops 306bhp and delivers up to 440Nm of torque.