MERDAD Collection Coupe Based On The Porsche Cayenne Turbo

The rebirth of the English coach builder tradition:
The MERDAD Collection Coupé based on the Porsche Cayenne Turbo

They were the first choice for demanding motorists until the 1960s: English coach builders such as Hooper, H.J. Mulliner & Co., Park Ward, Tickford and many others.

They manufactured special coaches mostly for the luxury brands Aston Martin, Bentley and Rolls Royce, all custom-tailored to the customers’ individual preferences. The constantly progressing shift to unibodies made it increasingly difficult to realise one’s own coach concepts. A once flourishing industry became extinct.

The good old English coach builder tradition is now being resurrected with the new MERDAD Collection Coupé, a superlative two-door SUV that was created based on the latest Porsche Cayenne Turbo. The all-wheel-drive car impresses with fascinating design and exclusive appointments. But that’s not all: Powered by an eight-cylinder Biturbo engine that produces 670 hp / 493 kW the four-seater accelerates from rest to 100 km/h in just 4.4 seconds and reaches a top speed in excess of 300 km/h.

The exclusive interior features power seats that slide forwards to facilitate access to the rear seats, and was manufactured by German specialist Mattes Interieurtechnik.

The MERDAD Collection Coupé is built to order starting at £ 395,000.

The conversion from four to two doors was developed by the MERDAD Collection engineering team. The objective was to retain the distinctive silhouette of the Cayenne, but to give it a more coupe-like design by doing away with the two rear doors. The standard wheelbase of 2895 millimetres remains unchanged.

To that end the German SUV is rebuilt from the ground up. Numerous components such as the doors, 20 centimetres longer than the original, and the rear side walls with new B-pillars that moved further to the rear had to be made by hand by the experienced coach builders and like the production body shell had to be hot-dip galvanised.

New safety glass panes also had to be developed and manufactured specifically for this car.

To retain the high rigidity of the base car numerous reinforcements hidden from sight had to be integrated into the body shell. The result is impressive: The MERDAD Collection conversion to two doors reflects highest quality standards – British coach building 2012!

The coupe version also necessitated a new interior design. In German specialist Mattes Interieurtechnik from Bietigheim-Bissingen MERDAD was able to win a partner that has been considered the top address for exclusive interior refinement for the past two decades.

The conversion to two doors required more than just the development of new interior trim for doors and rear compartment. Reinald Mattes and his team also had to provide access to the new individual rear seats with a new seating configuration. For this purpose the front seats had to give way to new folding specimens. Their special feature: Not only do the ergonomically shaped sport seats fold forwards upon the push of a button, they also slide forwards electrically to facilitate access to the rear seats. Upon a second push of the button on the carbon-fibre seatback shell the seat automatically reverts to its original position.

In the course of redesigning the interior the Mattes interior designers also tailored the cockpit to the future owner’s preferences in every last detail. On this MERDAD Collection Coupé the customer decided on a lipstick-red and black leather/Alcantara combination that matches the black paint finish.

This material and colour combination isn’t just finished with utmost precision; it also is adorned with loving details such as red contrasting seams and a newly developed ergonomically shaped steering wheel rim whose shape and thickness were tailored precisely to the customer’s requests. Colour-coordinated instruments with MERDAD Collection logo are of course also part of the appointments.

To make the coupe even more striking it can be upgraded with the MERDAD Collection wide-body version that is available for all current Porsche Cayenne models. The precision-fit detachable parts not only add 90 millimetres to the width of the SUV, but also lend it an even more dynamic appearance. The MERDAD Collection front fascia was designed to further reduce lift on the front axle at high speeds. The door attachments lend the sides a more striking definition and also seemingly give the all-wheel-drive car an even sleeker stance.

Under the flowing lines of the fender flares is room for 10Jx22 MERDAD Collection forged wheels, which are mounted with high-performance tyres in size 295/30 ZR 22. Contrary to many forged wheels from other vendors the multi-spoke wheels custom-designed for the Cayenne were not optimised for maximum weight savings but for maximum strength. In this way MERDAD Collection accounts for the heavy weight of the vehicle. The MERDAD Collection suspension module, which lowers the ride height of the SUV by up to 40 millimetres, is specifically calibrated to the low-profile tyres.

The MERDAD Collection carbon-fibre bonnet adds not only to the car’s passing clout thanks to its two power domes; it also ensures better thermal health in the engine compartment with the help of the two integrated air vents.

These measures also make the two-door car perfectly ready for the most powerful engine from MERDAD Collection: The MERDAD 670 version boosts power output of the 4.8-liter engine from the top-of-the-line Cayenne model by 170 hp / 125.1 kW. To this end the V8 Biturbo engine is fitted with special exhaust manifolds and larger turbochargers as well as with a revised intake system with sport air filter. Engine electronics with new mapping for injection and ignition coordinate the perfect interaction of the high-performance components.

Propelled by 670 hp / 493.1 kW at 6100 rpm and a peak torque of 890 Nm, available from 2500 rpm, the two-door car accelerates from rest to 100 km/h in just 4.4 seconds and reaches 200 km/h after just 14.5 seconds. Top speed is in excess of 300 km/h.

The power symphony is accompanied by the spectacular sound of the MERDAD Collection high-performance exhaust system. The stainless-steel exhaust with four chrome-plated tailpipes is also available for all production engines of the Cayenne.

The MERDAD Collection Coupé is built to order and tailored to the customer’s individual preferences in every detail. In addition, MERDAD Collection also offers an extensive customisation program for all Porsche Cayenne models, the latest 911 Turbo, the Range Rover Evoque and Vogue models (MY 2013) and the McLaren MP4-12C.

Furthermore, MERDAD Collection also offers exclusive alloy wheels and sport exhaust systems with thrilling sound for numerous supercars from Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini and many others.