On 19 May 2022, Mercedes-Benz named a programme of ultra-exclusive collector cars. It called the programme the MYTHOS Series. Produced in selected numbers. Exclusive to the most dedicated enthusiasts and collectors. Every car aims to earn a place beside the brand’s historical pantheon of greats. That language is in the English Mercedes-Benz Media note from the Economics of Desire event.
Also in this series: Mercedes-AMG Showed the PureSpeed Concept as the First Mythos Car, and Mercedes-AMG Will Build 250 PureSpeed Speedsters.
Named in 2022. First car in 2024.
The source is Mercedes-Benz sets out long-term ambitions as the world’s most valuable luxury car brand, Stuttgart, 19 May 2022. The same briefing put Mythos at the top of Top-End Luxury, with limited editions and exclusive collaborations. Ola Källenius said Mercedes has more than one or two icons to build on: S-Class, SL, G, AMG, Maybach.
The same event showed a parallel Maybach collector programme. Do not mix them. The Limited Edition Maybach by Virgil Abloh is a Maybach S-Class, 150 units, inspired by Project MAYBACH. Mercedes printed 150. It is not a Mythos car. Mercedes said further exclusive collector editions would follow under Maybach, and separately announced MYTHOS.
PureSpeed is the first Mythos car. 250 units.
The first model arrived two years later. Concept Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed, Monaco, May 2024. Production PureSpeed, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, December 2024. Mercedes called it the first model in the strictly limited Mercedes-Benz Mythos series. The cap is 250. Fully open two-seater. No roof. No windscreen. HALO in place of an A-pillar. That is the car the factory put under the 2022 name.
August 2024 testing: camouflaged prototypes, northern Italy then Nardò, more than 3,000 kilometres, Pininfarina as the small-series partner. Mercedes-Benz Media, Affalterbach/Nardò, 28 August 2024: Prototypes of the Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed in the final stages of testing. Still 250. Still the first Mythos model.
The production book lists a wet clutch. Not a pedal.
The 2022 Mythos announcement did not list a gearbox. The 2024 concept kit did not list one either. The production PureSpeed kit did. AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 9G. A wet starting clutch replaces the torque converter. That is the factory line. It is not a three-pedal car. Engine figures in the same book: 430 kW (585 PS), 800 Nm, 3.6 seconds to 100 km/h, 315 km/h. IWC Schaffhausen analogue clock. Burmester 15 speakers, 1,170 watts. Console badge: “1 out of 250.” Mercedes did not print a US price.
Official sources for this series: the 19 May 2022 Mercedes-Benz Media Economics of Desire note, the Mercedes-Benz NL concept and production kits, the 28 August 2024 Mercedes-Benz Media prototype note, and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 unveil in Monaco. Manufacturer kits only. Maybach collector cars stay Maybach.
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