The limousine underwent its extraordinary transformation for its role as the centrepiece in the ‘Otis’ music video, performed by Grammy award-winning rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West. The final scene of the video promised that the car would be auctioned off for charity – and the duo have made good on their pledge.

Built in 2004 and thought to be formerly owned by one of the multi-millionaire rappers, the Maybach will go under the hammer as lot 1 in Phillips de Pury’s Contemporary Art sale in New York on March 8. Among the ‘modifications’ are a decapitated roof, a crude swap of the bonnet and bootlid, and doors that have been relocated as ‘wings’. Needless to say, the car isn’t road-legal.

With an estimate of 100,000 – 150,000 U.S. dollars for a car that cost upwards of 300,000 dollars when new, it might seem that butchering the Maybach was a tad unseemly, to say the least. But it’s worth remembering that a 2004 Maybach would be likely to fetch a similar figure on the used car market – and that’s before you factor in the publicity it drummed up for Jay-Z and Kanye in its video appearance, which has had over 37 million YouTube views to date.

So, wanton destruction or stroke of genius? We’ll let you decide. But at least the rappers' hearts are where they should be – unlike their car’s doors.

Photos: Phillips de Pury