Maybach auto news

Spy Shots: Maybach gets a nose job...sorta

It's so mild, in fact, that the test mule was able to circulate undisguised, as we really had to compare side by side to see what had been changed. But if you squint your eyes and tilt your head just so, you can see that the Maybach in the spy shots has a slightly different bumper and grille, and is said to be carrying LED headlamps, with similar mods to the rear. Maybach may be giving the interior a slight refresh, too, but they can't expect the almost indiscernible facelift to help it gain any territory on arch-rival Rolls-Royce and Bentley, can they?

Lead Zeppelin? Maybach exhumes long-dormant nameplate for new super-lux model

One of these days, the guys at Daimler headquarters in Stuttgart will realize that, to make Maybach a success, the marque is going to need to do more than revive some old names and slap 'em on an oversized version of the old Mercedes S-Class. Until then, however, it's full speed ahead on the current course, as Maybach is poised to unveil Zeppelin editions of its current models.

Reviving the old nameplate of the original Maybach's top-spec model, the new Zeppelin is little more than a pricy trim package. €406,000 (about $525k USD by today's rates) gets you a Maybach 57 Zeppelin, while the larger 62 commands a €473,200 ($612k) sum. In exchange, you get some unique 20" dark chrome rims, the requisite special badges, dark red tail lights, vertical exhaust outlets, special leather upholstery ("California beige" with "Stromboli black" stitching), piano lacquer trim, a set of silver champagne flutes and a plastic fragrance dispenser.

Maybach says they'll only make 100 Zeppelin editions, but remember: that's a maximum, and we'd be surprised if they actually sold that many. Full details in the press release after the jump and photos in the gallery below.

Gallery: Maybach Zeppelin

Continue reading Lead Zeppelin? Maybach exhumes long-dormant nameplate for new super-lux model

Maybach leads luxury segment... in depreciation

Anybody want to buy a used Maybach? Hello? The idea may sound entirely preposterous - an anathema, even, to the brand's nouveau riche market - but it may be the best way to get your hands on Mercedes' super-lux big brother. Of course that's the positive way to look at it, but the flip side is that, as demonstrated by recently released statistics, Maybach has the highest depreciation rates of any car on the market.

Over the course of the first year of ownership, a new Maybach 62S is assessed to lose a whopping $183k off its half-a-million-dollar sticker price. That's 39% off its purchase value in the span of a year, or roughly $500 every day. The Rolls-Royce Phantom, by comparison, loses "only" about $100k, or 24%. Slightly further down-market, things are even worse... by percentage, at least: a BMW 7 Series loses a tear-jerking 51%, and a Mercedes S-Class 47%. While depreciation is expected on a new car, this is bordering on depressing.

The six-seat Maybach 72, when 62 decimeters just isn't enough

As if the regular old Maybach 62 wasn't decadent enough, someone just went ahead and created a Maybach 72. Starting with a donor 2004 Maybach 62, the creator stretched it enough to add a pair of rear-facing back seats to make a true limo experience. Whereas the original model was 62 decimeters (decimeter = 1/10th meter) long, the resultant party palace is 72. The price of the vehicle is said to be double that of the original at $780,000. That's a whole lot of coin, but it does have less than 500 miles on the odometer. And this is the only Maybach we know of that goes to 11 72. It's no taxi, but it sure is novel.

Gallery: Maybach 72

Thus sprache Zetsche: Maybach not going anywhere

Seemingly nothing - not the credit crunch, not miniscule sales, not its own lengthy, lugubrious looks - can kill the Maybach. People who have wondered how long Mercedes will keep dishing out tiny servings of the enormous cars can wonder no more: top guy Dieter Zetsche has said Maybach is here to stay, and that the brand "is not losing money."

We don't know how a division that moved just 146 cars last year, even if they start at $372,000, isn't losing money. But the $1.35 million Landaulet should help things, and to be to be fair, Zetsche has said before that Maybach's profitability or otherwise is not the issue - the car is a suitable competitor to Rolls-Royce and Bentley. And Daimler has demonstrated patience: it waded through the rough times with the smart car division for ten years, and now has black ink and a hot brand to show for it.

Gallery: Maybach 62 Landaulet

Super rich may avoid super expensive cars because of bad image

If you've got it, flaunt it. The super high-end automotive market has been counting on that attitude for years, and it may now be coming back to bite them. It seems that sales of luxury marques such as Bentley, Maybach and Aston Martin have been on a downward trajectory over the last year. Despite the fact that there are a number of people who still have plenty of dough to purchase these expensive toys, public perception is causing some of them to hold back and keep those fat wallets in their pockets.

To combat the problem, some high-end brands are choosing to aim even higher. If ex-customers with a net-worth of less than $5 million find it socially unacceptable to make a purchase, Bentley has said it will begin marketing to those with at least a net worth of $25 million. Let us add that we've driven a few Bentleys and Rollers and can say with certainty that they are definitely conspicuous in a sea of CamCords and Mustangs.

Gallery: First Drive: Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe

CAR reveals Project Alligator as big Mercedes/Aston Martin collaboration

Project Alligator. That's the internal code-name for a potential collaboration between Mercedes and Aston Martin on everything from drivetrains to platforms. CAR's September issue gets into all the details, which includes such tasty nuggest as the possible use of AMG's 6.2-liter V8 in the next Vantage, porting over Mercedes' future eight-speed auto 'box into Astons, sharing platforms between both automaker's high-end models (think SL and beyond), cooperating on the development of diesels and hybrids, and using Aston's future products to keep Maybach alive and maybe even help the wayward ultra-luxury brand thrive with up to five new models. But it gets even bigger. A collaboration between the two could place M-B in a good position to buy Aston Martin if its new owners, including Prodrive's David Richards, decide to exit the automaking biz. As CAR points out, however, the only potential loser from Project Alligator coming to fruition is Mercedes' other partner, McLaren.

The Maybach Exelero can be yours... for $7.8 million

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Maybach Exelero

Big-bucks enthusiasts annoyed that they're not the only ones at the club with a Veyron can now ensure that they arrive in total exclusivity. That's because the one-off Maybach Exelero, commissioned by Fulda to act as a high-profile demonstrator for its tire line of the same name, is now for sale. The Exelero isn't some delicate flower of a show car. Based on the Maybach 57 and powered by a 700-horsepower version of that car's turbocharged V12, the Exelero reached 218 mph at Nardo. In many ways, Exelero represents what Maybach could have and should have been -- a place where daring styling and incredible performance could merge with extreme luxury to compete with Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Instead, while the marque's sedans clearly get the luxury part of the equation right, in terms of styling, they basically work in anonymity, looking like peculiar old S-Class sedans. There's nothing anonymous about the Exelero, though, and for €5,000,000 (around $7.8 million USD), you can drive the sybaritic supercar that Daimler should have given Maybach all along.

Gallery: Maybach Exelero

[Anamera via eGMCarTech]

Russian aristocrats travel in luxury cabs

It's a brilliant marketing come-on, really. Who wants to climb into a GAZ-24, however appealing it might be to obscure-car guys, when you could sink into the all-enveloping sumptuousness of a Maybach 62? Need to get to Gorky Park quickly? A Porsche Cayenne outfitted with a meter and checkerboard detailing awaits at the curb. It's not just a fancied-up VW, still carrying the VR6 behind the Porsche crest, either. No, this Cayenne is a TechArt Magnum, packing enough horsepower to light Long Island. Shaking that covey of shifty-eyed men in the shiny black Zil won't be a problem. It's not known if the fare is commensurate with the price of the vehicle, however.

Daimler considers shutting down Maybach

Daimler will take the next two years to decide whether to invest more in its failing Maybach flagship marque or else shut it down. This comes from the mouth of Daimler and Mercedes chief Dr. Dieter Zetsche, who inherited the problem-child brand from his predecessor, ex-CEO Juergen Schrempp.

After ditching Chrysler, another deal that was orchestrated by Schrempp, Dr. Z may be inclined to shut down Maybach, too. By all accounts the ultra-premium brand has not been a sales success, barely reaching ten percent of its original sales forecast. In speaking with TheCarConnection.com, however, Zetsche insisted that Maybach's profitability "does not matter" in the face of demonstrating Mercedes' capability of competing with archrival BMW's pinnacle Rolls-Royce (and Volkswagen's Bentley), but that may prove to be all talk if Maybach doesn't present a solid business case. Zetsche confirmed that there are currently no plans on the table for new Maybach products - cutting short speculation over a new baby Maybach positioned between the current 57 and the Mercedes S-Class - and that even the outrageously-priced 62 Landaulet was unlikely to make much headway in turning the brand's fortunes around. We guess P.Diddy and his crew will have to find another ride.