Maybach

For Maybach diesel engines, see MTU Friedrichshafen.

For the record label, see Maybach Music Group.

Maybach-Manufaktur

Maybach Badge
Type	Division of Daimler AG
Industry	Automotive
Founded	1909
Founder(s)	Wilhelm Maybach
Headquarters	Stuttgart, Germany
Products	Luxury vehicles
Parent	Daimler AG
Website	Maybach

Maybach SW 42, 1939

Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH (German pronunciation: [ˈmaɪbax]) is a German luxury car manufacturer. It was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son. The company was originally a subsidiary of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH and was itself known as Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH until 1912.

Today, the ultra-luxury car brand is owned by Daimler AG and based in Stuttgart. Tognum AG based in Friedrichshafen manufactures the commercial Maybach diesel engines under the MTU brand through its subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH.

Daimler announced in November 2011 that Maybach will cease to be a brand by 2013. The decision follows almost a decade of trying to make Maybach a profitable rival to Rolls Royce and Bentley. Maybach will be replaced by new and more luxurious models from the Mercedes brand, which is also made by Daimler.

1909–1940: Early history

Early poster with double M logo

Maybach has historic roots through the involvement of Wilhelm Maybach, who was the technical director of the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) until he left in 1907. On 23 March 1909 he founded the new company, Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH (literally "Aircraft Engine Building Company"), with his son Karl Maybach as director.^{[citation needed]} In 1912 they renamed it to Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH ("Maybach Engine Construction Company"). The company originally developed and manufactured diesel and petrol engines for Zeppelins, and then rail cars. The Maybach Mb.IVa was used in aircraft and airships of World War I.

Captured Maybach T3 Assault Gun (Sturmgeschütz III), made on the basis of medium tank Maybach T3 (Panzer III). National Museum of Military History (Bulgaria)

The company first built an experimental car in 1919, with the first production model introduced two years later at the Berlin Motor Show. Between 1921 and 1940, the company produced various classic opulent vehicles. The company also continued to build heavy duty diesel engines for marine and rail purposes. During the second world war, Maybach produced the engines for Nazi Germany's medium and heavy tanks.

After WW II the factory performed some repair work, but automotive production was never restarted, and some 20 years later, the company was renamed MTU Friedrichshafen. Daimler-Benz purchased the company in 1960.

1997–2013: revival

In 1997, Mercedes-Benz presented at the Tokyo Motorshow a luxury concept car under the name Mercedes-Benz Maybach (V12, 5987 cc, 550 hp). Mercedes-Benz decided to develop and market the car under the sole brand name of Maybach, as parent Daimler wanted an ultra-luxury marque to compete with Rolls-Royce and Bentley, which recently came under the ownership of Daimler's domestic rivals BMW and Volkswagen Group. Maybach was therefore revived as a brand in the early 2000s. The company offered various options for customers to personalise their vehicles, and provides various equipment combinations.

Maybach 62

Production of the new model commenced in two sizes — the Maybach 57 and the Maybach 62. The numbers are equal to the lengths of the automobiles in decimetres. In 2005, the new 57S was added, sporting a 6.0L V12 bi-turbo engine, producing 604 bhp (450 kW) and 737 lb·ft (999 N·m) of torque, and featuring various cosmetic touches.

To promote the new Maybach line, Mercedes-Benz has tapped public figures to act as brand ambassadors, including Maybach heir Ulrich Schmid-Maybach, golfer Nick Faldo and in 2006 rap music icon Jay-Z featured the limited edition Maybach Exelero (coupe) in his ground breaking music video entitled "Lost One". The video was first released on December 4, 2006, Jay-Z's 37th birthday and notably features the rare concept car Maybach Exelero owned by diamond mogul André Action Jackson.

Several Maybach 57 and 62 models at the 2005 Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach, CA.

The base price of a 2009 Maybach 57 was $344,000; the Maybach 57 S, $381,000; the Maybach 62, $394,000; the Maybach 62 S, $430,000, and the Maybach Landaulet semi convertible costs just over 1 million. The Maybach 57 Zeppelin is priced at €406,000 ($580,000) and the 62 Zeppelin at €473,200 ($677,000).

Initially, Daimler-Chrysler predicted annual sales of 2,000 global units with 50% coming from the United States; however, such lofty sales expectations never materialized. In 2007 Mercedes bought back 29 US dealers, reducing the total from 71 to 42. In 2010, only 157 Maybachs were sold worldwide, compared to 2,711 sales of similarly priced Rolls-Royces.

Cessation

With less than stellar sales expectations and heavy impact of 2008 financial crises, Daimler AG undertook a review of the whole Maybach division. These included talks with Aston Martin to engineer and style the next generation of Maybach models along with the next generation of Lagonda models. According to Automotive News, only 44 Maybachs have been sold in the U.S. up to October 2011 year to date, and just 3,000 have been sold worldwide since the marque was revived in 2002.

However, on 25 November 2011, Daimler announced that sales of all Maybach models and the brand would cease in 2013, even though sales of the brand grew 20% that year.

The line will be replaced by the next-generation of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class due for the 2013 model year, particularly the long wheelbase S-Class Pullman. An executive told a Frankfurt newspaper that: "(Daimler) came to the conclusion that the sales chances for the Mercedes brand were better than that of Maybach."

According to Fortune Magazine, after missing out on the chance to purchase Rolls-Royce and Bentley when they were up for sale in the 1990s, "Mercedes backpedaled and decided it needed to be in the ultra-luxury business too, but it went after it in a remarkably clumsy way". Fortune stated that the first Maybach models had poor driving dynamics compared to its contemporaries from Rolls-Royce and Bentley, as "Mercedes took an aging S-class chassis and plopped an absurdly elongated body on it...rather than develop a new car from the wheels up, as BMW did with Rolls-Royce, or cleverly use the underpinnings of an existing model like the Audi A8 for a new Bentley". Furthermore, Maybachs were never advertised as owner-driven vehicles, as the company believed that the luxury amenities would be sufficient to sell and they even insisted that auto journalists (who usually test drive the vehicle) ride in the backseat.

Another suggestion for Maybach's struggles was that parent Daimler had failed to differentiate it from its Mercedes-Benz brand. While all three ultra-luxury marques share platforms and engines with other luxury brands from their parent auto company, Maybachs are built alongside the Mercedes-Benz S-Class flagship sedan, whereas Rolls-Royce and Bentley are assembled in England (separate from the rest of BMW and Volkswagen Group's production plants) and thus are regarded as being more "exclusive". Furthermore the Maybach's pedigree was virtually unknown outside of Germany unlike its British rivals which have long enjoyed renown worldwide; indeed the 2006 Rolls-Royce Phantom's interior evokes memories of a 1930s car while the Maybach 57S's inside makes no reference to its marque's history.

Models

Pre-war

1938 Maybach SW 38

• 1919 Maybach W1: Test car based on a BMW chassis
• 1921 Maybach W3: First Maybach, shown at Berlin Motor Show. Featured a 70 hp (52 kW) 5.7L inline six.
• 1926 Maybach W5: 7L inline six, 120 hp (89 kW)
• 1929 Maybach 12: V12 precursor to DS7/8
• 1930 Maybach DSH: Doppel-Sechs-Halbe ("half a twelve cylinder") 1930-37
• 1930 Maybach DS7 Zeppelin: 7L V12, 150 hp (112 kW)
• 1931 Maybach W6: Same engine as W5, longer wheelbase. 1931-33
• 1931 Maybach DS8 Zeppelin: 8L V12, 200 hp (150 kW)
• 1934 Maybach W6 DSG: Featuring a twin overdrive transmission system.
• 1935 Maybach SW35: 3.5L 140 hp (104 kW) I6
• 1936 Maybach SW38: 3.8L 140 hp (104 kW) I6
• 1939 Maybach SW42: 4.2L 140 hp (104 kW) I6
• 1945 Maybach JW61: 3.8L 145 hp (108 kW) I6

W2 were the 5.7L inline six engines built for and ordered by Spyker. Not all were purchased, and Karl had to build cars featuring the engines to offset costs.

Around 1800 Maybachs were built before WW II.

Engines

• Maybach HL120
• Maybach HL116
• Maybach HL210
• Maybach HL230

Post-revival

Maybach Exelero at the Concours d'Elegance

• 2002 Maybach 57 and 62
• 2005 Maybach Exelero (prototype shown at the IAA in Frankfurt)
• 2005 Maybach 57S (the S standing for Special rather than Sport)
• 2006 Maybach 62S
• 2007 Maybach 62 Landaulet
• 2009 Maybach 57 Zeppelin and Maybach 62 Zeppelin
• 2011 Maybach Guard

Performance

The Maybach 57 accelerates from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in about 5.1 seconds; the Maybach 62 and 57 S, about 4.8 seconds; the Maybach 62 S, 4.5 seconds, and the Landaulet, 4.5 seconds. Though not extraordinary by today's sports-car standards, such acceleration is impressive for cars weighing well over 6,000 pounds. Maybachs in general are extremely powerful: the 57 has 518 bhp (386 kW; 525 PS); the 57 S, 559 bhp (417 kW; 567 PS); the 62, 570 bhp (425 kW; 578 PS); the 62 S, 612 bhp (456 kW; 620 PS), and the Landaulet, 633 bhp (472 kW; 642 PS).

Price

The base price of a 2009 Maybach 57 is $344,000; the Maybach 57 S, $381,000; the Maybach 62, $394,000; the Maybach 62 S, $430,000, and the Maybach Landaulet semi convertible costs just over 1 million. The Maybach 57 Zeppelin is priced at €406,000 ($580,000) and the 62 Zeppelin at €473,200 ($677,000).

Features

Standard features of all Maybach models include, but are not limited to, a navigation system with voice recognition, air conditioning with 4-zone climate controls, power rear sunshade, rear-seat DVD entertainment system, interior air filter, front and rear seat massage, 21-speaker premium sound system, power tilt/telescopic heated wood/leather-wrapped steering wheel with radio and climate controls, power trunk open/close, voice-activated AM/FM radio with 10-disc CD changer, keyless start, heated front and rear seats, cooled front seats, power panoramic sunroof, adaptive cruise control, premium leather upholstery, 18-way power front seats, 14-way power rear seats, heated cupholders, rearview camera, iPod adapter, wireless cell phone link, outside-temperature indicator, universal garage door opener, and night vision.

Options for the Maybach 57 and 57S and standard for the Maybach 62, 62S, and Landaulet include 18-way power rear seats (replacing 14-way), 5-zone climate controls (replacing 4-zone), power side sunshades, cooled rear seats, wireless headphones, voice-activated power panoramic sunroof (replacing power panoramic sunroof), steering wheel mounted navigation controls, heated glass windows, and 30-speaker premium sound system (replacing 21-speaker).

The company offers various options for customers to personalise their vehicles, and provides various equipment combinations.

Sales

Calendar Year	US Sales
2003	166
2004	244
2005	152
2006	146
2007	156
2008	119
2009	66
2010	63

In popular culture

Rapper Rick Ross has named his record label Maybach Music Group in reference to the car brand, the label's logo being a variation of the car brand's. Ross also released a single called Maybach Music 2, one version of a track which has appeared in different variations on three of his albums.

Rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West are shown customizing a Maybach 57 in the 2011 video for the song 'Otis'.

See also

• List of German cars
• Maybach Foundation

External links

• Maybach Manufaktur
• The Maybach Museum (in German)
• A biography of Wilhelm Maybach (in German)
• Technical information about Maybach engines in the Tiger I tank
• Maybach Foundation
• "Lockers Hold Spare Wheel Of Stream Line Auto", October 1932, Popular Mechanics a streamlined auto made in co-operation with Junkers engineers, only one built