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| Maybach
57 |
Broadcast
dates : 4th July 2004
8th July 2004 |
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 Even
knowledgeable enthusiasts are mystified as to the origins of
the Maybach nameplate.
Wilhelm Maybach was associated with Mercedes-Benz in the early
part of this century, before leaving the German luxury car
maker to help design engines for the famous Zeppelin airships.
From 1921 to 1940 Maybach built his own super-luxury cars,
starting with a 5,7-litre six-cylinder tourer in 1921.
Between 1931 and 1940 the V12, eight-litre Maybach Zeppelin
luxury car was built and it rivalled the best Mercedes-Benz
cars of the day.
The Maybach nameplate was revived in 2002 to enable
DaimlerChrysler to compete with the likes of Rolls Royce and
Bentley.
Rolls Royce had been bought by BMW, while Bentley had been
sold to the VW-Audi Group.
And in the corporate battle amongst top German automotive
executives, it was important that DaimlerChrysler had a
super-premium brand, a couple of notches above the most
luxurious of Mercedes super-saloons.
The appearance of the Maybach is not as dramatic as that of
the Bentley, or especially the latest-generation Rolls Royce.
In fact it has leanings to British styling lines in its
flowing curves and dual-tone body colours.
But its sheer size is what impresses.
This is the "baby" Maybach, the 57, relating to its
length of 5,7 metres.
And the long-wheelbase Maybach 62 has a 6,17 metre length.
The Maybach is hand-built in a dedicated plant in Stuttgart,
the home of Mercedes-Benz.
Technical highlights include a four-hundred and five kilowatt
V-12 engine that enables the Maybach 57 to accelerate to 100
km/h in just five comma two seconds.
The engine uses twin turbochargers and is a development of the
Mercedes S-600 engine, but with considerable more power.
Torque is nine hundred Newton metres available at just two
thousand three hundred rpm.
These figures make the Maybach the most powerful production
sedan in the world.
Top speed is electronically limited to two hundred and fifty
kilometres per hour, at which speed the Maybach is just
hitting its stride
So this car offers supercar levels of performance in a cosmic
stratosphere of luxury.
Other technical highlights include a total of ten airbags and
eight separate braking circuits for safety.
And it goes without saying that it comes with every reasonable
type of mobility guarantee, should the unthinkable happen and
something go wrong with the car.
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