What Rolls Royce was to the royal gentry before, Maybach is the same to the new generation. It is the sign of ultra opulence and a synonym for a neat blend of Technology and luxury.
Maybach is not a car you an find in a dealership. They are luxurious yet highly exclusive cars, while being expensive too. That makes its terribly unaffordable to many. Each detail in the car is custom built to individual customer's liking. A long list of options, colours and interiors with the owner's name carved, upholstery, and gadgets are selected exclusively to suit each owner. To order a mayback one has to go to the Maybach commissioning studio housed in selective Mercedes-Benz dealerships.
The name Maybach itself is not new to automotive fraternity. One of Germanys' earliest automotive engineers, Wilhelm Maybach designed the first car with a Mercedes Badge in 1901. He was also involved in design and production of Zeppelin aircrafts. Along with his son Karl Maybach, he crafted the very first luxury Maybach car in 1919. However, it was his personal endeavour in creating new engineering concepts. The car was built on Mercedes Benz chassis.
The first prototype of Maybach cars called the Type W3 was unveiled at the Berlin Motors Show in 1921. The car was capable of doing a maximum of 110km/h and was powered by 70 bhp engine. It was an amazing speed in those days. Even today many cars in India come with a 70 bhp engine. In the years that followed Wilhelm made several changes in the engineering and design to achieve higher speeds and better performance. Maybach soon was leading the European Automotive fraternity.
Maybach also created a sensation when he launched the first 12 cylinder engine in 1929. Called Type 12, it was powered by a 150 hp V12 engine. It was one of the best known Maybach cars that stands for timelessness and opulence. Maybach used his experience from creating aeroplanes to create cars.
Together they also created the Maybach Zeppelin cars. One of their classic car is the Type Zeppelin DS 8, introduced in 1929. The car was equipped with a 200-horsepower V12 engine and was capable of reaching a top speed of 150 km/h. Between 1921 to 1941 Maybach made several great cars -like opulent limos, and sedans. Karl Maybach was closely involved in creating new path breaking cars.
After 1940, Maybach shifted its focus from cars to manufacturing powertrains for military vehicles, marine and rail purposes. After the war, the company could never make a come back to automotive industry unlike Audi, Rolls Royce and Mercedes. Daimler Motors, manufacturers for Mercedes-Benz cars acquired Maybach.
After a lot of efforts, Daimler was able to bring back Maybach cars from the grave. In 2003, Mercedes-Benz revived the ultra opulent brand of cars. They commenced production of two new models - Maybach 57 and Maybach 62. These cars are available in India too. The prices for the cars start from Rs 5.5 crore. Only those with mounds of money can hope to afford these cars. Maybach cars have now come to dominate the niche market.
