The Maybach Zeppelin will cost between $450,000 and $605,500. The crystal perfume atomizer is standard, but the iPod cable isn't.
The rich, it’s often said, are different from you and me. That goes for their cars, as well. How do you justify spending half a million dollars for an automobile? Is it the exclusivity? The unique features? The cavernous cabins, the horsepower…or something else entirely?
The folks at Maybach have, at various times, argued “all of the above,” when justifying the price tag on their various models, which start at $358,000 for the “base” Maybach 57 sedan, and run all the way up to $1.4 million for the Landaulet, the most exclusive offering for this most exclusive of brands. Now, they’re adding the 2010 Zeppelin, which is just going into a limited production run.
To get a better sense of the marque’s appeal, we headed over to the lush French Cote d’Azure to spend a few days at the Chateau Saint Martin with an assembly of current and former Maybach owners, and to get a chance to drive the brand’s newest offering.
Our 2010 Maybach Zeppelin test car came with this perfume atomizer. But the iPod car was an option.
Zeppelin is actually an upgrade to the short-wheelbase 57 and longer 62. The name is borrowed not from the legendary dirigibles that commanded the skies in the years prior to World War II – using engines provided by the old Maybach manufacturing concern – but rather from one of the most elegant automobiles ever built during that golden age of luxury automobiles. The first German car to feature a V-12, it was produced by the original Maybach Motor company, which was one of all so many casualties of the Great Depression.
There’s a world of difference between the luxury cars of that era and those today. Curiously, it’s that perfume atomizer that the folks at Maybach spent much of their time hyping during the Zeppelin preview. The only feature of its kind, you can load it with your favorite perfume and it will provide a puff at preset intervals.
The system is standard, though we were surprised to learn that one of the few options on the otherwise fully-loaded Zeppelin is an iPod connector to the car’s otherwise state-of-the-art audio system.
While the wood and leather treatment is distinctly Maybach, many of the underlying components are shared with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
Now, to be fair, there’s a lot more to the Maybach than just a crystal atomizer and the crystal champagne flutes carefully stored in the glovebox.
In the rarified atmosphere where the German marque competes, leather and wood are essential details, and few do a better job with these basic materials. The wood door panels, for example, are built up in 62 layers. With the Zeppelin, as with all Maybachs, you can opt for just about any color combination, inside or out, that you might imagine. Have a favorite tie or shade of lipstick? They’ll match it, though the recommended cabin combination is California Beige accented with Stromboli Black.
The exterior features a unique paint package. As with the “base” Maybach sedan, it’s a two-tone, but here the lighter brown stripe is limited to the “shoulders” of the car, rather running down the entire lower half of the vehicle. Another interesting touch is the chrome shadow finish of the new 20-inch wheels, which appear to change shades as the car moves. There are now four exhaust tips on the limited-edition Zeppelin. And the double-M hood ornament now adds the word, “Zeppelin.”
The back seat of the Maybach 62 Zeppelin is positively cavernous, with the seats opening like those in Business Class.
For those who prefer to spend their time sitting in the box seat, whether relaxing or getting work done while a chauffeur handles the driving, the Zeppelin 62 offers an experience you can’t easily match. There is, first of all, a fold-out seat similar to what you’d find in Business Class on most airlines. If you tire of the slick A/V system, there’s the electroluminescent roof, which can switch from clear to backlit opaque at the touch of a button.
The shorter Zeppelin 57 still offers a cavernous back seat and the same basic audio/video package, though the seats are more conventional and the trick roof is gone. This is more of a driver’s car, as we discovered on the mountainous passes into the heart of Provence.
Both versions of the Maybach sedan are powered by a biturbo 6.0-liter V-12 making 640 horsepower – 24 than before. And despite that heft, there’s enough torque to sink you deep into the seats if you slam the accelerator pedal to the floorboard. Torque, by the way, is limited to 738 pound-feet – a still admirable number – to prevent damage to the five-speed transmission.
The original, pre-War Maybach Zeppelin was the first V12-powered German car. The new biturbo V12 makes 640 horsepower.
We were a bit surprised that the automaker chose to send us racing off on the back country roads of southern France. We’ve spent quite a bit of time here, over the years, testing a variety of vehicles, though these narrow lanes are more suited for a nimble sports car, like an Aston Martin DB9, than a big bomber like the Maybach Zeppelin.
The German maker has done an admirable job trying to balance the suspension of the 62, trying to find a balance between a classic, chauffeur-driven limousine and something a bit more sporty, but nonetheless, after 15 minutes riding in back, as we hooked around sharp corners and blind switchbacks, our green-faced colleague asked us to pull over for a moment, catching her breath before getting into the front passenger seat.
The smaller 57 was more adept on our return drive down the same roads. Driven aggressively, the rear end did a much better job maneuvering the tight corners, no longer flinging itself around like the back of a hook-and-ladder fire truck on an emergency call. It’s no surprise the smaller car has a governed top speed of 171 mph while the bigger sedan tops out at 155 mph.
Maybach officials intend to produce just 100 copies of the new Zeppelin. That might sound like a lot, but considering that the entire brand might not see many more than 200 customers this year, that’s not quite as significant as it first would seem.
Maybach plans to produce only 100 Zeppelins.
The Zeppelin package, with the long-wheelbase body will set you back $605,500, a nearly $150,000 premium over the sportier 62s, and almost $190,000 more than the standard Maybach 62. For the shorter Zeppelin, Maybach is getting $455,500, an $89,000 upgrade over the standard 57.
Is it worth it? Depends on how you make your money. And we’re not being flip. One of the potential customers we spoke to values every minute of the working day at a figure we’re unlikely to ever earn. So having the room to stretch out in back of a Maybach 62 Zeppelin and work while his chauffeur takes him from one meeting to the next is more than a luxury; it’s a financial necessity. At least in his mind.
The reality is that there are relatively few folks in that position. And even then, in the current environment, where frugality is a positive attribute, even among the rich, it’s hard to make a case for the new Maybach. But if you’ve got the money, and are looking for the most lavishly outfitted car you can buy, the 2010 Maybach Zeppelin just might be what you need.