What's your general opinion about asymmetrically-styled vehicles? Yes, we are talking about the first-gen Hyundai Veloster, for example, or this - the Karlmann King SUV. If this is the first time you hear about the latter, then prepare to spend five minutes with the machine that is dubbed as the world's most expensive SUV on sale today.
A new video from the Bacroft Cars channel on YouTube details some of the features of the King and introduces us to its designer, Luciano D'Ambrosio. He explains the inspiration for the exterior of the gargantuan SUV comes from the Batmobile that featured in The Dark Knight trilogy. It's a design language that he describes as the "diamond design."
"Instead of trying to find the perfect combination of surfaces, we tried to create a break in the surfaces. It has to be big, dominant, but at the same time not to be so aggressive. It's absolutely unique."
The design is definitely quite unique indeed, but underneath the skin lays a very common technology. Namely, the King is based on the Ford F-550 with power provided by a 6.8-liter V10 engine with 420 horsepower. Previous reports claimed the top speed of the SUV is just 87 miles per hour (140 kilometers per hour) due to its weight of more than 13,000 pounds (5,896 kilograms), but in this new video, D'Ambrosio says it can reach 137 mph (220 kph).
"Given the size of the car, you can imagine that you are driving an elephant," the designer explains. "But, as a matter of fact, it is very flexible and nice to drive." So, a flexible elephant then?
And now about the price. To justify its label as the world's most expensive SUV, the King starts at $1,085 million for the "base" version. Go for all the options in the list, and you'll have to spend more than $3 million to get one.
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