Mongolian Hunters Buy Xanadu On (Six) Wheels
Even the least educated in Asian affairs know Mongolia is full of exotic wild animals and was once home to Xanadu, the archetype for opulence.
Now, a pair of filthy-rich modern-day Kublai Khans have built pleasure domes out of a pair of Mercedes-Benz Zetros, a six-wheeled military-spec vehicle bigger and badder than the monstrous Unimog. These absurdly ostentatious off-road rigs don’t just have an off-road ratio of 1.69, but they also feature bidets and heated marble floors in the bathrooms. And yes, we know the city of Xanadu is called Shangdu and it is now part of China, but we hope the geography trolls will forgive us for the sake of an extended metaphor.
One of the pair made his pile of tögrögs as a shareholder in coal and copper mines. The other owns a brewery. Daimler insists they are just a couple of average guys.
“Mongolians love their freedom, and greatly enjoy excursions into the varied natural surroundings of their high-altitude homeland,” Daimler said in a press release. “The two friends use their unique jumbo off-roaders for multi-day excursions into the Altai mountains, for example, where they hunt for wolves with an eagle.”
Hunting wolves with an eagle. And here we thought a good day of hunting involved a duck blind, an orange vest and a spill-proof coffee mug on the dash of a ‘79 Ford F-150.
Previously, the two friends had to use horses to get to remote areas. So plebeian. Why rely on one horsepower when you can have 326? The 7.2-liter inline-six produces a stump-pulling 959 pound-feet of torque between 1,200 and 1,600 RPM. With three differential locks and a hydraulic 9-speed transmission, the Zetros is truly go-anywhere.
The extravagance doesn’t stop with the drivetrain, however. The custom body and interior includes a few acres of leather, a full kitchen and a custom dinner-service for eight. One of the vehicles can even hold an ATV in a rear cargo bay. Inside, the living area is screened with double-glazed glass, netting and enough security to keep out a Person from Porlock.
A bedroom is at the rear, there’s leather seating for six and the bathrooms are nicer than any we’ve ever used. Each rig has two televisions — 40 inches and 46 inches — because one simply wouldn’t do. The table folds into the floor at the push of a button, and the Bose entertainment system connected to a Mac Mini features a satellite dish for all your television needs.
Unfortunately, Daimler didn’t provide photos of the interior but if it’s as magnificent as it sounds, we’re sure someone will get hopped up on opium and describe it in a poem a few hundred years from now.
Photos: Daimler
Now, a pair of filthy-rich modern-day Kublai Khans have built pleasure domes out of a pair of Mercedes-Benz Zetros, a six-wheeled military-spec vehicle bigger and badder than the monstrous Unimog. These absurdly ostentatious off-road rigs don’t just have an off-road ratio of 1.69, but they also feature bidets and heated marble floors in the bathrooms. And yes, we know the city of Xanadu is called Shangdu and it is now part of China, but we hope the geography trolls will forgive us for the sake of an extended metaphor.
One of the pair made his pile of tögrögs as a shareholder in coal and copper mines. The other owns a brewery. Daimler insists they are just a couple of average guys.
“Mongolians love their freedom, and greatly enjoy excursions into the varied natural surroundings of their high-altitude homeland,” Daimler said in a press release. “The two friends use their unique jumbo off-roaders for multi-day excursions into the Altai mountains, for example, where they hunt for wolves with an eagle.”
Hunting wolves with an eagle. And here we thought a good day of hunting involved a duck blind, an orange vest and a spill-proof coffee mug on the dash of a ‘79 Ford F-150.
Previously, the two friends had to use horses to get to remote areas. So plebeian. Why rely on one horsepower when you can have 326? The 7.2-liter inline-six produces a stump-pulling 959 pound-feet of torque between 1,200 and 1,600 RPM. With three differential locks and a hydraulic 9-speed transmission, the Zetros is truly go-anywhere.
The extravagance doesn’t stop with the drivetrain, however. The custom body and interior includes a few acres of leather, a full kitchen and a custom dinner-service for eight. One of the vehicles can even hold an ATV in a rear cargo bay. Inside, the living area is screened with double-glazed glass, netting and enough security to keep out a Person from Porlock.
A bedroom is at the rear, there’s leather seating for six and the bathrooms are nicer than any we’ve ever used. Each rig has two televisions — 40 inches and 46 inches — because one simply wouldn’t do. The table folds into the floor at the push of a button, and the Bose entertainment system connected to a Mac Mini features a satellite dish for all your television needs.
Unfortunately, Daimler didn’t provide photos of the interior but if it’s as magnificent as it sounds, we’re sure someone will get hopped up on opium and describe it in a poem a few hundred years from now.
Photos: Daimler
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