Stola Phalcon

You know that saying about money not being able to buy taste? Well this is that statement summed up perfectly in one set of pictures. Those pictures are of a Maybach-based coupé that was unveiled at the 2007 Geneva motor show by Italian coachbuilder Stola, which has a history of producing challenging-looking cars.

Optimistically, when the Stola Phalcon coupé was revealed its maker claimed that production of this luxury leviathan would be limited to "just 25". While the official pictures from Stola suggest that not even a mock-up was made, as only a computer-generated car was shown, a full-sized car was on display at the 2007 Geneva Salon, as also shown in these pictures.

Stola didn't say how much it would be asking for the Phalcon, with very little information given out when the car broke cover. Whether or not the enormous peregrine falcon mascot was mandatory also wasn't disclosed; what was a much neater touch was the fitment of a windscreen that extended right the way over the roof and down the rear to form the back window. Replacing that would have been fun, after the glass had cracked.

It's not known if that show car was a runner, but at least one driveable Stola Phalcon was made and it popped up for sale in 2011, at an undisclosed price. Whether or not there was ever a second running example also isn't known, but it seems that there probably wasn't.

With a Brabus-tuned Mercedes twin-turbo 6.3-litre V12 engine in the nose the Stola Phalcon was claimed to be capable of over 200mph thanks to having 750bhp on tap, along with peak torque of 973lb ft, although this was electronically limited to a mere 810lb ft in a bid to save the transmission.

Presumably Stola spotted an opportunity when it was asked to build the unique Maybach Exelero, which looked sensational. As a result some very wealthy enthusiasts wanted an Exelero of their own, but couldn't have one as that car was strictly a one-off. The Maybach Coupé was probably Stola's take on that formula, but sadly the design house overdid things when coming up with its own version, which didn't have the clean lines of the Exelero which surfaced two years before the Stola Phalcon made its debut.