Mercedes-Benz Announces Project MAYBACH in Honor of Virgil Abloh
The luxury car brand has brought one of the late multihyphenate’s projects to life, which is on display in Miami through today.
To honor the legacy of Virgil Abloh, Mercedes-Benz has created Project MAYBACH, a collaborative electric show car, to take after the designer in influencing the ideas of future generations and challenging the status quo. A two-day exhibit open to the public at the Rubell Museum in Miami, it is considered to be a simple contribution in comparison to all that the polymath artist, architect, creative director, fashion designer, DJ, and philanthropist has accomplished.
Built completely from scratch, the Project MAYBACH showcase began yesterday at the Rubell Museum in Miami, giving exclusive access to students from local design schools from 11:30am to 12:30pm. Running through today, the show car “exemplifies the possibilities of future design” and aims to continue the conversation around the world of luxury design.
Collaborating with Gorden Wagener, Abloh made a huge impact in the luxury car industry through his work with Mercedes-Benz, pushing boundaries of design and creativity like never before. The two-seater battery-electric show car is an off-road coupé inspired by the outdoors, standing at six meters long. Similar to the Gran Turismo, the car demonstrates how the brand is constantly evolving, as they have traditionally urban designs. The pair wanted to further question what electric travel could look like through this model, as the front hood holds solar cells that help increase the range of Project MAYBACH.
“Mercedes-Benz is devastated to hear of the passing of Virgil Abloh,” the statement from Mercedes-Benz AG said. “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.”
Abloh’s work is iconic not just from his distinct designs themselves, but also for the significant conversations that his work prompted. Combining nature with luxury, Project MAYBACH gives tribute to Abloh for his ideas in sparking cross-industry dialogue to create a more productive and inclusive future.