The Maextro V800 arrives as a dual-motor range-extender EV. Early images reveal intricate lighting and a striking two-tone finish. A 63.2-kWh battery provides up to 171 miles of electric range. Chinese newcomer Maextro made plenty of noise a couple of years ago with the S800, an uber-luxurious sedan pitched like a Mercedes-Maybach but priced well under one. The gamble worked. The S800 became a real sales hit, outselling every established luxury rival above $100,000 in China and giving Maextro plenty of reason to push further upmarket. Now the brand has teased its second model, and this one promises to be even more opulent. Read: Huawei’s Maextro Is Making A Cullinan Rival For BMW iX Money, Not Rolls Money For the uninitiated, Maextro is one of the five brands in Huawei’s HIMA multi-brand collaboration, alongside Aito, Luxeed, Stelato, and SAIC. The vehicles are built by JAC and Huawei at a plant in Hefei, China, and while you might have expected the second model to be an SUV, it’s actually a minivan. But this is no ordinary minivan for the school pickup run. Badged the V800, the minivan borrows heavily from the S800. Tall LED headlights dominate the front, and there’s no traditional grille, just an oversized badge planted in the center of the fascia. Like a growing number of high-end Chinese cars, it’s been shown wearing a two-tone finish, here in gold and brown, with chrome laid on thick. The S800 has some trick LED technology, and the V800 is much the same. It features small lights hidden behind the door handles that illuminate the doors, and rear taillight clusters with thousands of tiny LEDs that can display detailed images, as previewed here with a Phoenix. Big Power For A Big MPV The V800 is a full-size minivan measuring 216.3 inches (5,495 mm) long, 78.9 inches (2,006 mm) wide, and 72.8 inches (1,850 mm) tall, riding on a 135-inch (3,430 mm) wheelbase. Frustratingly, only a few interior shots have surfaced so far, so a proper look will have to wait. For now, we can see the cabin will have a 2+2+3 configuration and is trimmed in plush leather with what appear to be several crystal elements. There’s also a large panoramic glass roof with a sliding cover that doubles as a Starlight headliner, just like a Rolls-Royce. Power comes from a range-extender setup. The new Maextro pairs a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine making 173 hp with two electric motors good for a combined 530 hp. Feeding them is a sizable 63.2 kWh battery, enough for up to 171 miles (275 km) of all-electric range. Pricing and availability should be confirmed in the next few weeks, though we suspect the V800 will land above the S800, which already starts at a little over $100,000 in China.
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