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First shown on U.S. soil at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, the Maybach 62S Landaulet will be arriving in showrooms in December.
“The Landaulet is for a superrich individual who wants something that is extremely extraordinary and enjoys being driven in a car with acres of sky above them,” said Hans-Dieter Multhaupt vice president of program management for Maybach.
We almost forgot that Maybach still exists as an Uber-premium brand, but its future is certainly questionable. Maybach sold only 146 cars last year, or one-tenth the projected amount.Â
The company, which sells only 2 versions of the same car in XL [57] and XXL [63] sizes, is not scheduled to get any new products anytime soon. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche argues that the Maybach brand shows that they can compete with the most pretigious of brands, Rolls Royce. Well, his definition of ‘compete’ must be slightly different than ours though.
We got our first ‘real-life’ look at the Maybach 62 S Landaulet concept at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show last week. And if you are one of those that can afford a Maybach you may be excited to learn that Daimler AG has decided to make the 62S Landaulet concept a reality.
Speaking with German newspaper, Stuttgarter Zeitung, Klaus Mair, head of Mercedes-Benz Cars marketing, said that the car is now set to go into serial production.
Maybach brought its 62S Landaulet Concept over to Detroit after unveiling it at the Dubai Motor Show in November. This exclusive Mayback convertible offers fun-in-the-sun for rear-seat passengers as the driver pushes the 6.0L V12 engine with twin turbochargers that produces 612 horsepower.
Since all Maybachs are supposed chauffer driven cars, Maybach offers pampering to only rear-seat passengers rather than the driver. The roof of the 62S Landaulet can be fully opened at the rear, while the chauffeur’s area remains completely closed off to the world. Rear passengers also get the entertainment package with a DVD-player, six CD-changer, a cooler compartment with its own electric compressor and an intelligent system which holds glasses, goblets and champagne bottles safely in position.
There is no word whether Maybach will produce the car, but a limited production is expected if the Landaulet concept generates enough positive reaction.
Click through for the press release and images from the Detroit Auto Show.
Maybach 62S Landaulet Gallery:
 
 
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Impressed by Maybach’s 62S Landaulet study? Check out this video of the car in action. Of course we feel horrible for the driver that won’t get any fun in the sun like the passengers in the rear seat. But don’t worry, at least he’ll get to enjoy the 6.0 liter V12 engine with twin turbochargers that produces 612 horsepower.
Click through for the video.
BRABUS has set the world-record speed of 205 mph with its Maybach 57 which carries the BRBABUS SV12 S Biturbo engine. BRABUS broke its own record set in 2005 with a BRABUS SV12 Biturbo that produces 640 horsepower which clocked in at 195mph.
Engineers and test drives then teamed up to increase the output of the car up to 730 horsepower allowing them to reach a top speed of 205.2mph.
Maybach has revealed the Maybach 62S Landaulet Concept ahead of its Dubai Motor Show debut on November 13th. Since all Maybachs are chauffer driven cars, Maybach offers pampering to only rear-seat passengers rather than the driver. With the Maybach 62S Landaulet, the roof can be opened fully at the rear, while the chauffeur’s area remains completely closed.
The Maybach Landaulet Concept is powered by a 6.0 liter V12 engine with twin turbochargers that produces 612 horsepower. Performance is enhanced by an electronically controlled air suspension AIRMATIC DC (Dual Control) and the Adaptive Damping System (ADS II) improves agility and comfort.
Rear passengers also get the entertainment package with a DVD-player, six CD-changer, a cooler compartment with its own electric compressor and an intelligent system which holds glasses, goblets and champagne bottles safely in position.
There is no word whether Maybach will produce the car, but a limited production is expected if the Landaulet concept generates enough attention.
Maybach 62S Landaulet Concept Gallery:
 
 
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Despite sluggish sales of the Maybach lineup, Mercedes has decided to increase pricing of 2008 models. The 2008 Maybach 57 now starts at $341,750 while the 2008 Maybach 62 S carries a price tag of $432,250. Both models receive an increase of $3,500 over the outgoing 2007 models.
That puts the Maybach brand to compete with the Rolls-Royce Phantom sedan which starts at $342,000. The 2008 57 S now begins at $381,250, while the Maybach 62 starts at $392,750.
Since the sales of the ultimate-luxury brand Maybach continue to fall, Mercedes-Benz USA has decided to kill the number of Maybach franchises by more than half. 29 of Maybach’s original 71 United States dealers have given up on Maybach, said Ernst Lieb, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA.
When Mercedes introduced the brand five years ago, Mercedes-Benz dealerships spent over $500,000 preparing their showrooms for the Maybach brand, however the cars aren’t selling as well as they’d hope. Annual goals were set at 600 units, however in 2006 Mercedes sold only 146 Maybachs in the U.S.
Executives at Mercedes-Benz are saying that it doesn’t cost much too keep the Maybach brand on the market, although dealers aren’t too happy. 70 U.S. Mercedes-Benz dealerships spent over $500,000 preparing their showrooms for the Maybach brand, however the car isn’t selling as well as they’d hope.
While Mercedes-Benz set an annual target of 500 Maybachs when it debuted in 2003, dealers have sold only 778 cars up until July of 2007. So what’s next for Maybach?
Spies at KGP Photography have caught a hidden Mercedes vehicle at the AMG factory. Unfortunately, after a 12 hours stake out, the spies were unable to get uncovered shots of the vehicle since AMG engineers were just preparing the car for testing.
Speculations include that this is the Mercedes SLC, a car that Mercedes is building in partnership with HWA AG, its official DTM race car developer. The SLC will be powered by a 6.2 liter AMG V8 engine producing 500 horsepower. Other speculation is that this is the long-rumored Maybach Coupe.
Head over to WindingRoad for the full shots
We don’t know if Maybach will ever build the car, but Jay-Z supposedly has one (or rented one for his video). Nonetheless, with a top speed of 220 mph the Maybach Exelero gives the Bugatti Veyron something to watchout for in the rear-view mirror.
The Maybach Exelero has a bi-turbo V12 engine that pushes 700 horsepower giving the car the ability to do 0-60 mph in just 4.4 seconds with a top speed of 220 mph. If you ever wondered what that engine looks like in action check out this awesome video of the Maybach Exelero doing 218 mph.
After facing sluggish sales and production totalling only 280 units last year, Maybach is headed back to the drawing board and although investment at this time might seem like a stupid idea, Maybach confirms that there are new models in the works. One senior Maybach official told CAR Online ‘…that the four-door Ocean Drive convertible started life as a Maybach, but then we got cold feet and turned it into a Merc.”
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