Eccentric Autos Debut at Dubai Motor Show

While local autoshows in far off, exotic places normally dont set off our automotive radar, this years Dubai Motor Show in the United Arab Emirates caught our eye with two eccentric introductions. Of course, this is aside from the standard assortment of high end sports and luxury cars from Bentley, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maybach and many bespoke manufacturers.

Volkswagen turned up with a one-off limousine made from the Phaeton luxury sedan by its customization arm, Volkswagen Individual. Crafted from the bodies of three regular Phaeton sedans, it has been stretched to a massive 6.8 meters long - a whole half meter longer than Maybachs titanic 62 sedan. This most opulent luxury limousine is powered by Volkswagens finest engine - a 420 horsepower 6.0-liter W12, but due to the extra weight and size of the vehicle its top speed has been brought down to an electronically limited 180 km/h (112 mph).

The interior of the Phaeton Lounge has been reworked by Volkswagen Individual to include extra-plush seating for four with a built-in refrigerator and wineglass holder between the seats. The standard carpets have been replaced with wood flooring, enhanced by LED mood lighting. Entertainment for those riding on board comes through 17-inch TFT display monitors that can show either DVDs, or provide internet compatibility for surfing the net or sending a few e-mails while on the go.

DaimlerChrysler, on the other hand, was proud to display something that you can buy - a new, special edition of the Unimog. Called the U 500 Black Edition, it is essentially DaimlerChryslers hardest-working commercial vehicle, retrofitted with all the luxuries and goodies one might expect in a high-end S-Class. Brabus, the world-famous tuner for Mercedes-Benz and the official tuner of smart, has reworked this mechanical workhorse into a veritable collectors item.

The U 500 Black Edition is an open and shut textbook case of customization. Its exterior modifications are limited to a monochrome paintjob, sports-tuned exhaust and chrome-plated roll bar. Inside, standard work-grade seats have been replaced with fully-adjustable buckets trimmed in Benzs finest Mastik leather, while the dashboard has been accented in real carbon fiber. Benzs top of the line COMMAND DVD navigation/hi fi system has been retrofitted into the dash as has dual-zone climate control.

And while Brabus was in charge of the conversion, the engine, a 6.4-liter turbodiesel that generates 280 horsepower and 811 lb-ft of torque hasnt been changed. All that power and torque make for excellent pulling power, but not much by the way of performance: it has a top speed of 75 mph and its 0-60 mph acceleration time is deep into the double-digits. And those wheels? They might not be chrome plated, but their 24-inch diameter ought to be good for some street cred, if not taking the Unimog across everything from deserts to peat bogs.

As you might expect, this labor-intensive transformation isnt cheap; the Unimog U 500 has a price tag that starts at E230,000 ($273,000) - some E90,000  ($96,000) more than the base U 500. However, with a limited run of just 500 units, this military-spec workhorse in a tuxedo is actually more rare than most Ferraris. Of course, like all things interesting and quirky in the motoring industry, the U 500 will not be sold in the U.S.