After buying a special plane, Gu Kun's last stop in Europe a few years ago was selected in Stuttgart.

In fact, Gu Kun didn't want to go to this stop, because at that time, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, and several German car companies had relevant senior managers who ran business.

The reason why they attach so much importance is obviously that these entrepreneurs with a keen sense of smell have noticed that Gu Kun is about to make waves in the global luxury industry, and will also make a crazy reputation, and the name Gu Kun itself will have huge advertising value in the future.

Of course, these car companies came to him, not just to sell him a few cars, but to let their brands have one more free top traffic celebrity endorsement.

Compared with yachts and special planes, Gu Kun has no rigid needs in terms of buying a car. The Extended Executive Lincoln, which he drove a few years ago, is still in use, and he also plays with Porsche and Ferrari sports cars.

Who made the Germans a few years ago too uncompetitive, speaking of which, there are only Mercedes-Benz and BMW, the two garbage, the top luxury cars are too lacking, and the recognition is too low.

Gu Kun didn't want to use the brands of Rolls-Royce and Bentley's cloth dogs, so he had to pinch his nose and endure nausea for a few years to open the executive version of Lincoln.

This time, when Gu Kun received Robin Southwell in Hamburg, there were actually several German car companies that had invited him. There are not only Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart, but also BMW in Munich, Gu Kun originally refused to meet with both.

It's just that when he refused to Mercedes-Benz, Gu Kun casually complained a little more, causing the rest of the matter.

"Don't show me a broken brand like Mercedes-Benz that can be bought for less than 100,000 euros! Unless you resurrect the Maybach as Lao Tzu earlier, I need a luxury car on the same level as Rolls-Royce and Bentley, and you can't look at it under a million euros!"

At that time, Gu Kun was just angry, and he said it casually. As for BMW, he didn't even bother to say anything angry, it was a waste of words.

Who knows, it was such an angry sentence that actually attracted a very formal explanation from the other party.

Mercedes-Benz sent a very high-level vice president of sales, named Helmut von Liszt, to call Gu Kun, saying that if he was willing to wait a year or two, he would be notified as soon as possible.

Because Mercedes-Benz is now also considering whether to restore Maybach, a sub-brand that has been silent for more than half a century, in the process of considering and hesitating.

In fact, at last year's Tokyo Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz had already shown a Maybach concept car, and had made many attempts to catch up with Rolls-Royce, but it has not yet been finalized.

This news really surprised Gu Kun, and he immediately expressed interest: "You already showed the Maybach at the concept car show last year?"

Gu Kun knows the history, and he vaguely remembers that the Maybach brand officially reappeared in 2002, or near the end of the year, and the real large-scale mass production was basically the beginning of the spring of 03. (The so-called mass was initially a few thousand a year, but later rose to five figures.) A luxury car of this level, all the sub-models add up to sell thousands of units worldwide a year)

However, he really didn't notice that as early as 1998, Mercedes-Benz people began to test the waters for Maybach's comeback and build a concept car.

However, it is normal to think about it, and it is not surprising that the concept car that is usually forced to be used at the auto show will come out three or even five years earlier than the production type.

Gu Kun immediately said, "Then can you sell me that concept prototype?"

Von Liszt was embarrassed: "I'm sorry, but that was the time of last year's auto show, and the prototype had already been given to Prince Abel of Monaco by our president Schremp. At that time, there was another backup car, which was also taken by King Hussein of Jordan two months ago -

Our prototype is also very safe, King Hussein has been assassinated more than 150 times in his life, he feels that he is very needed, if he does not die, he can also advertise us, please understand, I am not saying how noble the Jordanian royal family is. ”

The prototype concept car was built, although it was used for the exhibition, but it was impossible to waste it, so it was almost a common trick used by major top car companies to give it to the royal family as a soft advertisement.

And Mercedes-Benz's own brand and even its sub-brands, when making high-quality custom cars, the selling point of safety is also very outstanding (of course, there are many poor quality of mass-produced bargains), from the 770K used by the head of state half a century ago, it is a famous bulletproof car, which has resisted many attacks.

As for Jordan, it can only be regarded as a poor country in the Middle East, in fact, it has little money. It is estimated that the parent company of Mercedes-Benz gave this car to the Jordanians, considering that Jordan is the only monarchy in the Middle East that is at war with the Shining Gold people. Because the other two war-torn states, Syria and Egypt, do not have kings, their heads of state do not need too exaggerated protection.

Although countries such as big dogs have money, big dogs never fight with people, do not appear on the front line, and stuff money for other little brothers in the Middle East to fight. Mercedes-Benz has the latest Maybach bulletproof car, and if you want to give it to King Hussein, I believe that the big dog will help him sign the check to pay for it, and the big dog is used to doing that kind of thing.

After all, Jordanian dignitaries are also helping other Middle Eastern countries to carry the hatred of being assassinated.

The prototype is no longer there, and Gu Kun is also very helpless.

Besides, even if Zhu Youdong, the Grand Duke of Lanfang, came forward in person, the status of that Jianghu was not as good as that of King Hussein and Prince Abel, and it was just self-inflicted humiliation to be jealous.

Gu Kun pondered for a moment and retreated: "Then how is your company thinking about reviving the sub-brand of Maybach now?

Gu Kun didn't have much expectations for this question, he knew that history would have to wait until 2002, but he just hoped that if the butterfly effect would accelerate the progress of the luxury industry in this world.

This question, with von Liszt's status, could not answer him directly, so he told him to wait for the news, and he needed to find an opportunity to ask the boss and estimate the quotation of various possible solutions by the way.

If you really plan to double the line, it is almost a kick in the door, the early prototype custom car is also very expensive, and even according to the industry regulations, some limited editions have to amortize part of the research and development costs, which is outrageous.

For example, Prince Abel and King Hussein took the two cars, and if they really took them to auction and bargain, it is estimated that they will cost at least tens of millions of euros - just buying a highest-end Maybach production model may be two or three million euros, because the cost of the pre-research and development demonstration and line adjustment design of those cars is evenly spread over hundreds or thousands of cars.

In the case of prototypes, the amortization of 10 million euros in R&D expenses is very small.

Von Liszt must do his homework well and analyze all the feasibility, so that Gu Kun can report to him, in exchange for Gu Kun's half-sale and half-delivery endorsement.

Gu Kun couldn't wait, so he had to ask the other party to contact him by fax and email at that time.

"Then you guys discuss it slowly, I'm going back to Lanfang for the New Year. You have the results and send them to me remotely, or we can have a conference call. ”

Gu Kun put aside this sentence, boarded the plane from Stuttgart, and returned to Lanzhou for the New Year.

After returning to Lanfang, I rested for a few days, reversed the jet lag, and re-adapted to the climate, water and soil. On the morning of Chinese New Year's Eve, von Liszt emailed Gu Kun the latest possible plans and quotation models, and personally called him for international calls.

"Mr. Gu, you have indeed rushed to a better and more sensitive time. Even without your push, we will be starting the actual adjustment of the Maybach double line by the end of next year at the latest, and the finalization of the new design – this is a trade secret, but I tell you, as long as you don't leak it – was originally planned to be completed in the first half of next year.

If the market demand feedback is strong, these can be accelerated. For us, the investment in risk design is only about tens of millions of euros. If we can get a certain amount of deposit order, or if there are customers who are willing to amortize the customized model at a high price, we will come up with the final customized design at the beginning of next year at the earliest, and we will be able to come up with a new prototype in the first half of the year. ”

Mercedes-Benz wants to open a new brand, of course, it is impossible for Gu Kun to pay for the main research and development expenses. However, it is not impossible to spend a few percentage points or tens of millions of euros in sponsorship to give the other party the confidence to accelerate the project.

It's a bit similar to the gameplay of crowdfunding research and development in later generations, early crowdfunding users spend a little more money than normal buyers, and they can get a lot of customized services.

Gu Kun talked a little with the other party, and the other party meant that he needed to sponsor 30 million euros to ensure that he could get the only customized version of a Maybach before the official resumption of trading, which was the only one in the world, and the future production model would never be the same as him.

As for the car cost, of course, it has to be calculated separately, and the 30 million is just the design fee, but the car price is definitely cheaper than the design fee.

Gu Kun thought for a while: "Then I can publicize it through various channels in the future, saying that I am 'this unique Maybach in the world, and it cost 30 million euros to design'? ”

The car is not the key, the key is pretending and gimmicks.

Von Liszt replied as a matter of course: "That's natural, you spent money, can you not show off that you spent money." ”

Gu Kun: "Then it's better like this, I'll add tens of millions of euros." When the time comes, you will not only customize the design for me to ensure that it is unique in the world, but also give me unique processing in the body material, and I am not afraid to spend money.

Now the international gold price seems to be 16 US dollars a gram, and a kilogram is 16,000 US dollars, or 14,000 euros. Get a ...... Three tons of gold, almost more than 40 million. You claim that you have spent 5 tons of gold and 70 million or 80 million gold costs. Then I changed the body shell to a gold one.

Of course, the load-bearing structure and bulletproof structure still need to be made of whatever material, the titanium alloy is titanium alloy, and the outer layer of gold is good. In the end, my car is advertised to sell for more than 100 million euros. ”

The car is too bad to be a gimmick, so use gold to make it up, this is the fastest, simplest and crude.

Von Liszt was shocked: "This ...... Aren't you afraid of vulgarity?"

Gu Kun: "In the Internet era, people's concept of honor and disgrace will change, don't be afraid of vulgarity. ”

When Apple tyrant King Kong came out, it was also vulgar, but Internet culture has turned vulgarity into something that is not ashamed but proud, which cannot be stopped.

Gu Kun was trained in the dopamine laboratory in later generations, and he knew too well the inferior nature of human nature.

A bunch of guys who are very honest physically.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Senzong Yi were really born in the wrong era, if you put aside the modern times, how can anyone say that the turtle Hideyoshi repairs the golden tea room is vulgar. Compared with the ancients, the aesthetics of contemporary literati and artists have long been broken, or although they are elegant, they have no chance to speak.

Von Liszt could only temporarily agree to Gu Kun dumbfounded, and stabilize him with hypocrisy and grievances, and at the same time, he couldn't help but make a rigorous German estimate in his heart.

"The density of gold is 19.3 grams, and 3 tons of gold is only 15 centimeters thick and 1 square meter in size. Maybach's latest custom model is at least 7 meters long, with a circumference of at least 5 meters on three sides enclosed by width and height, and the chassis is not gold-clad.

In this way, the total surface area of the front, back, left and right sides is about 35 square meters...... Removing the window glass, there is still a surface area of 30 square meters. That is to say, the thickness of the gold coating should be divided by 15 centimeters by 30, which is about 5 millimeters thick. The process is not difficult, the weight of the car is 3 tons, just change the engine to a little bigger. ”

In von Liszt's mind, he had already made up a Maybach with half a centimeter of gold on all five sides except the chassis. If you switch to 18K gold for surface hardness, you can still wrap it up to 7 mm thick.

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