Maybach 62 S

Limousines and Supercars Debut at Beijing Motor Show

The gulf between perception and reality is often enough to swallow entire countries whole. Take China, for example. The images many still conjure up in their heads when thinking about the Asian giant might come down to squalid shanty towns oppressed by communist overlords. But with the free market taking a greater hold with each passing day, the People's Republic is quickly emerging as a vital market for purveyors of luxury goods, including high-end automobiles. Sure, the average peasant may be able to afford little more than a rickety bicycle, but with the world's largest population numbering over a billion people, even the top fraction of the socio-economic strata can overshadow entire nations.

Against such a backdrop, it should come as no great surprise that the world's premium automakers scrambled to the Chinese capital this year with a wide array of exotic and luxury automobiles. In fact the cars making their world debuts at this year's Beijing Motor Show were enough on their own to outshine the last major international exposition in Manhattan. Follow the jump to see what all the fuss was about.

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Maybach Announces Revised Range for 2011

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Looking for a new German-engineered luxury limousine? Better hop a plane to Beijing, because that's where they've all gathered this year. Audi used the occasion of the Beijing Motor Show to release its new long-wheelbase A8 L flagship, Bentley brought out a special-edition Flying Spur for the Chinese market, Volkswagen released the refreshed Phaeton, and now Maybach has released updates for its range at the show as well.

Upgraded cosmetically, luxuriously and mechanically for 2011, the new Maybach 57, 57S, 62 and 62S are likely the last renditions of the super-luxe Benzes before they're discontinued in a few years. But before they are, the range benefits from a revised V12 (in 542 or 630-horsepower versions) with reduced emissions and fuel consumption. The grille, hood, tail-lights and side mirrors have been reshaped to reduce wind noise. And the first-class interior benefits from reclining seats, a rear partition, 19" LCD monitor (from which occupants can view video feeds from all around the vehicle), an electro-chromatic roof panel, a perfume atomizer and even available Swarovski crystals embedded in the seat piping.

Gallery: 2011 Maybach