Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet leaked

The cover has been blown on one of Mercedes' reveals at next month's Geneva motor show.

A teaser image was released yesterday hinting at a convertible G-Class (no, it's not April 1), however a video has appeared online of the new Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet, completely undisguised and uncovered.

This is an uber-luxury, drop-top version of Merc's long-serving rugged off-roader, powered by the 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12 from its '65 AMG' models. In that guise it produces a whopping 463kW/1000Nm, however the Maybach limousine uses a similar engine in a more relaxed 390kW/900Nm state of tune.

It may look like the perfect vehicle to transport Ken and Barbie from the beach to their dream house, but the G650's best attribute isn't its speed or its off-road ability, but the ease with which it can extract vast quantities of money from those with little or no common sense.

Details are very scarce, however the Instagram post from automailru suggests just 99 will be built at a price of US$300,000, matching the ask for the Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet, a car which makes vastly more sense.

Despite its military origins and somewhat agricultural driving experience, the G-Class continues to be a smash hit for Mercedes, notching up its best ever year in 2016, passing 20,000 sales for the first time in its 37-year history.

With an all-new G-Class expected later in 2017, the G650 Landaulet is a fittingly illogical way to celebrate the current car's illogical success. No doubt all 99 will quickly find homes, however for our money the wild G63 AMG 6x6 is the much cooler car.