You say you’ve got an extra $300-grand lying around that you don’t know what to do with? Why not give the good folks at Maybach a call, and ask them to assign a PLM (Personal Liaison Manager) to you? That’s exactly what happens when you decide to take the plunge and purchase what is perhaps to be the most exclusive automobile in the history of mankind.
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The first thing that your PLM will help you with is your decision between the Maybach 57 and the Maybach 62 model. The difference between the two is substantial – the smaller 57 (18.3 feet) is meant to be owner driven, while the 62 (20 feet) is meant to be chauffeur driven. After you’ve decided whether or not you want to be bothered with the driving chores yourself, you will probably need to bring in your personal interior decorator, who will then work with your PLM to design the interior so that it will suit your very discerning tastes.
Your designer and PLM may decide to outfit your Maybach with remote controlled video screens and electronically dimmed privacy screens, DVD players, fax machines, laptops for you and your passengers, various leathers including grand Napa, supple Napa, Neubuk, and of course the obligatory cherry wood trims.
Unfortunately, you won’t have a say in the powertrain department – Maybach has you covered there with their twin turbocharged, 3-valve per cylinder, 550 horsepower V12 that also happens to develop an impressive 660 ft-lbs of torque at just 2300rpm. One might expect all of that power to make the Maybach a bit nose-heavy, but the super engineers from Sindelfingen have managed to keep the engine’s weight to just 595 pounds.
Order the Maybach 62, and you’ll be sitting in what is essentially a greenhouse on wheels with a large, comfy, reclining set of seats in the back. The 62 features a very cool optional electrotransparent cabin screen and electroluminescent glass roof – in other words, it’s like sitting in a glass bubble that can be dimmed to block the sunlight with the simple flick of a switch. Very cool.
With production of the Maybach limited to five hand-built units per day, total production numbers will be limited to approximately 1000 units annually. Rumor has it that a single buyer located in the Middle East has already purchased 25 units, and 400 Maybachs are destined for US soil already. No doubt that the Maybach will soon replace the Bentley and the Benz in all of the rap and hip-hop songs when status and wealth are required for chorus lines…but what rhymes with Maybach?
The Maybach doesn’t belong in any rap song as it wears a long gown of distinguished history. The very first Maybachs were produced in the late 1920’s and were named after Mercedes-Benz’s first designer, Wilhelm Maybach. The Maybach from eras past were equally as impressive as the 2003 Maybach. The Zeppelin DS 8 for example, featured a 7.9L V12 that generated 200 horsepower and propelled the Maybach to well over 100mph.
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DaimlerChrysler unveiled the 2003 Maybach in quite a unique manner – after shipping the first Maybach to the US via boat, they packaged it in a glass case and flew it by helicopter to 55 Wall Street in Manhattan – otherwise known as home to the New York Stock Exchange building.
While we seriously doubt that we’ll have the opportunity to ever test drive one of these exquisite automobiles, Dave Schembri of Mercedes-Benz USA claims that there will be six demo units available for customers to schedule test drives. Supposedly, these demo models will be located in Chicago, Jacksonville (FL), Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington. He further states, “We will find a way to ship a car to wherever the customer is or wherever they want to do it.”
Now, where did I put the checkbook?