The convertibles of today are generally known as little two-seat roadsters like the MX-5 and S2000. But it wasn’t long ago that a different kind of beast cruised the ocean promenades - the four door luxury convertible. Now, with barely any signs of life in this sector, Mercedes has designed a stunning concept that harks back to the good ol’ days when a four-door convertible wasn’t such a rare sight.

The big Merc is called the Concept Ocean Drive, and is one of the most stunning concepts we’ve seen to date. There are no sporty pretenses to this beauty - you know as soon as you look at it that the Concept Ocean Drive was made for wafting down ocean boulevards and appearing in rap videoclips as the "phat" car of the moment.

The all new body-work is modern with a hint of the classic lines of motorcars of old - and its two-tone paintwork only helps to further this image. The massive grille is framed by stunning LED-lights that give the car a hint of menace, but never overdo it like the 300C. Inside, no expense has been spared in carving the interior out of the finest woods and leathers, just to reaffirm that this isn’t just any convertible.

Under the hood sits a Mercedes V-12 lifted from an S600, and both cars share a similar platform.

I’m sure some of our Norwegian and Icelandic readers are thinking to themselves “Pah, its too cold for a convertible, what a silly idea”. But they haven’t yet heard of Mercedes’ AIRSCARF technology - a neck-level heating system to make sure that you can enjoy open-top motoring on even the dreariest of days. It's already available on the SLK and works a treat.

Sadly, it seems unlikely that the Concept Ocean Drive would ever become anything other than a concept - after all, Mercedes’ main competitors would be the likes of Bentley and Rolls-Royce. But maybe, just maybe, this concept could mark the return of the four-door luxury convertible. In the meantime you'll have to be content with chopping the roof off your S600.

_______________________________________

Follow Motor Authority on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.