Introduced as the long-wheelbase companion to the revived ultra-luxury limousine program, this nameplate marked the return of an historic prestige badge to modern series production. It was launched for the 2003 model year after its world debut in 2002, positioned at the very top of the brand’s passenger-car range and aimed squarely at chauffeur-driven luxury. The car was conceived as a contemporary interpretation of the prewar German luxury tradition: enormous in scale, heavily insulated from road noise, and focused on rear-seat comfort, craftsmanship, and exclusivity rather than outright sporting character.
This was the larger of the two core sedans in the revived line, distinguished by its extended wheelbase and rear-cabin emphasis. In that era, the model was offered alongside a shorter sibling and later joined by limited, more dramatic derivatives, but the long-wheelbase sedan remained the defining version of the series. Its presence was intended to reestablish the nameplate as a rival to the most exclusive sedans in the world, with a format that echoed the great formal luxury cars of earlier decades.
Production continued through the 2013 model year, after which the entire revived luxury sub-brand was discontinued following weak sales. That left this model as part of a short but memorable first modern chapter for the nameplate. Its significance lies less in volume than in symbolism: it demonstrated that the marque’s historic association with uncompromising opulence could still be translated into a contemporary flagship, even if the market for such cars proved smaller than expected.